Today Square Enix released a new series of Final Fantasy XIV screenshots of high quality (view screenshots here). Meanwhile, Aya, Stevemanly, the letter F, and the number 14 from FFXIVCore.com have translated Scans' interview into English. Will Final Fantasy keep their advantage of impressive storyline in their new MMORPG? Will Final Fantasy's ever-present crystals appear in FFXIV? And what is beast tribes? You can find the answers through the inteview below.

Final Fantasy XIV - New Song(Download)

Famitsu - Scans - standard Japanese game magzine

Satou - Square Enix staff who responsible for the main story

FFXIV Main Story

Instead of being a straight-forward battle between the forces of good and evil, FFXIV appears to be a complicated conflict between multiple forces. What lies in the battles ahead?

~ Read the Prologue here~

Famitsu(Fam): The prologue for FFXIV's story has been released, so we'd like to take this time to interview Ms. Satou about the story. Ms. Satou, what part of the story are you in charge of?

Satou(Sat): I'm in charge of the main story, the first thing adventurers are faced with when they arrive in Eorzea. There are many parts to FFXIV's story, including many subplots aside from the large, overarching main part of the story.

Fam: Would you say Eorzea is based on the main story you wrote for FFXIV?

Sat: I would say it was quite the opposite. In the beginning, there was Eorzea. The stage and the style of play were decided before the story was written. There were a few instances where I asked them to let me use cities in certain ways according to the story, and we made sure that didn't get in the way of gameplay. I'm pretty pleased with the results (she laughs).

Fam: Were there times when your ideas for the story changed because of further developments in the world and setting?

Sat: There were a few times where things in the story have changed, but I have a set image of what I want the main story to convey, and the plot has not changed since the beginning of production. Sub-stories actually had more of an effect on the main story, and if there was an interesting sub-story I sometimes allowed changes or additions to the ending.

Fam: Will Final Fantasy's ever-present "crystals" also be making an appearance in FFXIV?

Sat: They exist as the concept of "the light of creation," the force behind everything in this world. Of course, this is an indispensable presence in everyday life, and will be available to the players in the form of "power of the crystals."

Caption: Do the beast tribes fight humans to gain the adventurers' power, or do they fight to gain land? It's still a mystery.

Fam: What are the "strange-looking" beast tribes and what role do they play in the world?

Sat: Well, as far as appearances go, beast tribes are races that that look different than us humans. To put it simply, The beast tribes are considered savage by the Eorzean nations, but the beast tribes themselves do not see themselves that way.

Fam: Of course they don't (laugh). So why do they fight with humans?

Sat: Many reasons. Actually, there are many beast tribes, and each one has their own ideology that they hold dear. For example, one tribe considers unrestrained freedom important above all things, while another thinks that "might makes right." For each tribe, there are different ways of thinking, so their reasons for fighting are all quite different.

Fam: So "beast tribes" is a term describing any different-looking race at war with the humans?

Sat: Right. It's probably similar to the way quadavs, orcs, and yagudo were all called "beastmen" in FFXI.

Fam: Are there ever times where multiple beast tribes band together to attack?

Sat: This depends on the tribe. Some tribes will ally if their problem with the humans is similar, and some tribes have problems with other tribes as well. They are kind of like humans in that aspect (she laughs).

"Human" is the term that encompasses the player races: elezen, hyur, lalafell, roegadyn, and miqo'te. Each race has different backgrounds, but their reasons for fighting are the same.

Fam: How big is each tribe?

Sat: This varies greatly from tribe to tribe. There are tribes that are comprised of a select few, and there are other tribes that are quite large and powerful.

Fam: Let's talk about the "primals" the tribes summoned 10 years ago. What happened?

Sat: The only thing known about the events 10 years ago is speculation on the parts of the adventurers. The only thing known for sure is that, about 10 years ago, a decidedly different and decidedly powerful presence arose.

Fam: It's not something I'd really like to think about, but does each tribe control a primal guardian of their own?

Sat: It's safe to say that most tribes probably do. How each primal appears and what each one does is one of the biggest mysteries unraveled during the course of the story, so please look forward to it.

Caption: A powerful god summoned by a beast tribe. Anyone would be intimidated by this overwhelming legendary-beast-like form.

Read more on FFXIVCore.com.

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