One hundred years after the events of Final Fantasy Blackmoon
Prophecy, the world of Gaia has recovered from the conflict with Emperor
Belmont, Malacore, and Zeul which saw a group of adventurers, today
known as the Light Warriors, save the world from certain doom.
Inhabitants of the former Esper World, now known as Lupin, have become
accepted by the Humans of Gaia, with the two races working side by side.
Much of the world has changed greatly since the Light Warriors
defeated the evil entities which threatened the world, though residual
effects of the conflict continue to harm the world. The merging of Gaia
and the Esper World, officially known as the Great Cataclysm, continues
to have an effect on the inhabitants of the planet as various lands give
way and sink into the ocean.
The former kingdom of Branch has suffered the greatest, as most of
the kingdom has vanished into the ocean, which prompted ambitious rebels
to rise up and take what was left of Branch, creating a new kingdom out
of the ashes of the fallen one and naming it the Berona Republic after
its founder, Carwen Berona.
The Crystals of Element, having since reformed since their
destruction at the hands of Malacore, are believed to be all that keeps
further side effects of the Great Cataclysm from occurring.
The rebuilt Lindblum Kingdom stands proudly as the world's fastest
growing economical and military force. With the fierce backing of
Esperkind behind the kingdom, it appeared that nothing would disrupt the
immense prosperity that Lindblum was experiencing until Esperkind
suddenly turned against Lindblum. The game follows the adventures of a
young Augurer (specially trained anti-Esper monster summoner) named
Zephyr Highwind who is forced to abandon his simple lifestyle of looking
after Winter, a white chocobo which belonged to his deceased sister
Ezra. With new friends aiding him, Zephyr seeks to put an end to the
rising hostilities between Lindblum and the Espers, led by Ramuh, before
the conflict engulfs the entire globe.
Zephyr Highwind: The main character. Zephyr is a
young Augurer from the Lindblum town of Neirbrook who looks after
Winter, a white chocobo belonging to his sister Ezra. Zephyr's father
was an Ivalician dragoon. He is very carefree and loves to have fun and
go on adventures. The safety of his friends is paramount to him. He is a
fledgling swordsman.
Reiner Ardell: A Lindblum Augurer from the town of
Kaipo. Reiner is an experienced soldier as well, with duty and honour
coming before all else. Reiner doesn't particularly care about forming
connections with others, only socializing to break up awkward silences
or to lecture others. He prioritizes hsi mission above all else.
Hautley von Muir: An eccentric old magician who
serves a point of communication between Lindblum Castle and the Saradin
Mage Tower. Hautley is an experienced user of black magic who was taught
the craft many years ago by Oalston Saradin prior to his passing.
Hautley is the only character in the game who learns black magic from
leveling rather than from reading magic tomes.
Carina Madeen: A young white mage from the remote
island town of Branch. Unlike the rest of her town, she does not worship
the elusive "Graviton" deity. Carina is a talented healer who believes
in the sanctity of life. She is fiercely opposed to death, feeling that
even the most despicable criminals can be saved. She wishes to one day
travel the world to help the sick and the wounded.
Silas Hedgeley: A young Mohadmalan who happened
upon the armor of a fallen warrior at the base of Mount Houzell.
Adorning the armor, Silas decided to make use of the armor by training
as a swordsman. Silas is a stern young man, but has a heart of gold. He
is always looking to do good deeds, and is hopeful that one day he will
be able to identify the mysterious old sword he found with the suit of
armor.
Jasmine Amiro: An apparent young woman who has come
to be known as The Timeless One. One hundred years prior, exposure to
energies of the Genesis Obelisk on the moon rendered Jasmine as
sub-immortal being, her body aging ten times slower than normal. As a
woman who has seen much in her long life, Jasmine is often sought out
for advice. She is an inhabitant of Ivalice.
Sapphire Ling: An orphan who grew up in the Village
of Zen. She was found in a basket with a note saying that her name was
Sapphire, but she also goes by her adopted name of Ling. She is a
skilled user of ninjutsu who likes to look out for the poor. Sapphire
has an exceptionally soft spot for fellow orphans. She is highly
experienced in battle with the ninja sword.
Edric Csardim: A Lenadian knight well versed in the
chivalrous code of his profession. Edric stands for justice above all
else, which can lead to him coming across as being cold and distant at
times. He is an exceptionally talented fighter, having served Lenadia
for nearly twenty years. His chosen weapon is the spear.
Bolt Redford: An urchin living in the streets of
Berona City. Bolt earns his name for his swift nature and ability to
pickpocket anything that moves. He has a very daring and frisky
personality, and he feels that he can do anything that he sets his mind
to.
Trigger Ramsay: A master engineer hailing from the
Berona Republic. Trigger's seen and done it all, often working with
famous names such as Ivalice's experienced physicist Markim Alunira, or
the Eidolon known as Godot. Trigger has a short fuse and doesn't tend to
like people very much, but he's an exceptionally hard worker who always
gets things done thanks to his headstrong and stubborn nature. He is an
experienced sharpshooter, always carrying his pistols everywhere he
goes.
There are also two hidden characters who will remain undocumented,
but I'm sure that the good people of RMN will have no trouble finding
out how to obtain the two characters after the game is completed.
Achievements
Blackmoon Prophecy II will have a whole slew of achievements. They
will range from simple "find X treasures" to more complicated ones such
as obtaining all characters, defeating all optional bosses, and finding
secret things in the world. Several achievements will even come with
rewards. These will not affect gameplay and will simply be fun
gimmick/visual/vanity stuff like alternate costumes and minute changes
to the world.
Arena
I'm still debating on how to have the arena set up this time around,
but I'm still going to have a reward system similar to the first game
where you'll be able to receive rewards based on how many fights you've
won. I may make it work similarly to how the battle square functioned in
FF7, meaning continuous battles until you lose. In between fights, an
NPC who oversees the fights will put random buffs on the entire party
which may be positive or negative. If they're positive, awesome, but if
they're negative? Then it's up to the player to overcome the odds that
are stacked against them ever so slightly. While I'm excited to work on
the Arena, it won't appear in any demos/builds/whatever until the game
is almost finished. I am putting it off so that I can get the balancing
just right.
Auction House
Located in Lindblum City, the auction house functions much like it
did in the first Blackmoon Prophecy (which functioned exactly as the FF6
incarnation). With the auction house being in a major city that the
player will spend a lot of time in, I've decided to make it so that loot
tables will change more frequently based on where the player is in the
game. In the first Blackmoon Prophecy, rewards from the auction house
only changed once during the game (after the worlds merge) but, in the
sequel, I'll aim to make rewards change several times throughout the
story so that players will often see different items popping up.
Crafting
In the first Blackmoon Prophecy, crafting was present in the form of
upgrading equipment at blacksmith shops. In Blackmoon Prophecy II,
crafting plays a much larger role. Every weapon you can obtain must be
created at a crafting shop using various materials the player has
collected. There will be many ways to obtain ore such as purchasing it
from shops, looting it in dungeons, or acquiring it from monsters.
Gambler's Den of Chance
Sitting beside the auction house in Lindblum City's Lenadian Market,
the Den of Chance is something we've all seen before. You're presented
with several mystery boxes that each contain an item and you must choose
which one to open. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a fun little
diversion if you like games of chance. Also, who knows, you may get an
expensive item that costs much more than the price to play!
Headquarters Upgrading
About an hour into the game, a spastic moogle named Montblanc will
enlist the player to help him furnish their headquarters. Players can
purchase visual upgrades for several rooms, some of which have actual
functions like a music box that changes the BGM of the headquarters or a
stove that can make ore. Players can also recruit NPCs to come work for
them in their headquarters. Some of these NPCs will show up as vendors
that can upgrade their wares if players invest in their operations, and
others will simply offer interesting dialogue such as a librarian NPC
who has information on lore from the first game for those who never
played it. Also, every NPC that is recruited contributes to a bonus
reward that players will receive for completing side quest with the
Augurers. Recruit one NPC and you'll receive an additional 250 gold.
Recruit eight NPCs and you'll receive an additional 2000 gold!
Hidden Dangers
Everyone likes optional bosses/dungeons! The first Blackmoon
Prophecy had plenty of these and the sequel is not any different. There
will be several optional dungeons late in the game such as the monster
infested Kusku Salar located in Lindblum's salt flats, or Lukahn's
Workshop in all of its weird mechanized goodness. Optional bosses will
be familiar and unfamiliar as some are returning bosses from the first
game, a few are established optional bosses in the Final Fantasy series,
and a select few are original ideas.
Minion/Pet Battles
This idea spawned from another suggestion my composer had for me on
Skype. He originally proposed having upgradeable chocobos, but I didn't
want to take any thunder away from Winter, the main character's chocobo.
This idea made me think of something else, as I replaced chocobos with
standard Final Fantasy monsters such as bombs, cactuars, tonberries,
etc. Essentially, monsters will show up on the map on rare occasions
when the player reaches a specific point in the story. As an Augurer,
the main character is able to command and summon monsters, and
initiating a battle with one of these monsters that actually shows up on
the map will allow Zephyr to use an ability on the monster to tame it.
After doing so, the player will be able to place it in a stable at the
Augurer Colosseum. From here, players will be able to feed and train
their monsters, which will improve their HP and attack values. The
monsters can be entered into battles with other Augurer pets in the
colosseum, and winning these battles will reward the player with helpful
items. If your monster loses? It will return to its stable and will
require a phoenix down to remove its KO status. Monsters I'm currently
planning on using for this are... buel, bomb, cactuar, coeurl, flan,
lizard, mu, tonberry and veteran.
Post Game
After defeating the boss and watching the ending, the player will be
returned to the world map where they can complete unfinished content,
challenge optional bosses, or just take part in side content. NPCs will
respond appropriately to the fact that the final boss has been defeated,
and the general tone of the post game will be much lighter.
Side Quest Galore
Do you like side quests? Well then, you're in luck! Blackmoon
Prophecy II has tons of them, and almost every location you visit will
include them. The Eldritch Cave, which the player visits roughly 10-15
minutes into the game, contains the first one which involves collecting
aquamarine gemstones and turning them in to gem hunters who reward the
player with gold (the amount received depends on how many aquamarines
are being turned in). Several more side quests appear about 20-30
minutes later when the player reaches Lindblum City, like helping
Montblanc build up Bacchus Garrison or taking part in the goofy rivalry
between Biggs and Wedge as they bicker back and forth and hatch up
schemes to get revenge on one another.
Tetra Master (Triple Triad)
Triple Triad, identical to the FF8 incarnation, is in. I've skinned
it to look like Tetra Master from FF9, so I've combined the great
gameplay of Triple Triad and the nice art style of Tetra Master to
make... well, I'm just calling it Tetra Master. Players can visit Tetra
Master hubs in major cities/towns across the game world to challenge
card house employees or hummingways to games. The card house employees
play with basic leveled decks and sell the weak cards so that players
who find themselves losing a lot will have a way to prevent themselves
from flat out not being able to play anymore. Hummingways, however, are
the true masters of Tetra Master and can challenge players of all skill
levels. Hummingways use all sorts of different rules when they play and
beating one may take time, but the reward is always worth it due to the
fact that hummingways carry rare, one of a kind cards. There are 110
cards that can be collected and used in Blackmoon Prophecy II.
Winter's Saddle
This isn't really a BIG feature and it's not even very impressive on
a technical level, but it's still a handy little addition that I like.
At any moment on the world map, players can use the saddle of Winter,
the main character's white chocobo. This will spawn Winter on the map
who the player can then ride. This allows players to completely bypass
random encounters on the world map if they wish, and it also lets them
get around faster. This allows overleveled players who are tired of
fighting a chance to avoid a significant number of fights, or players
who feel they might be pressed for time can use Winter's saddle to speed
up their progress in their play session a little bit. One dangerous
side effect to this is that excessive reliance on Winter's saddle may
result in players being underleveled. While the saddle is certainly very
handy, I wouldn't recommend using it at every single opportunity.
Why did you go from saying you wouldn't make a sequel to actually working on one?
I think it's because the first game took up several years of my
life. I spent upwards of ten years with that world, the characters,
everything. When I finally finished the first game, it was a real load
off my back and I felt immense relief, but I also felt almost saddened
by the fact that I was saying goodbye to the fictional world and the
people living in it that i had worked on for so long. I guess it's like
when an author spends several years working on a story, they get
genuinely attached to the characters and places in it. Maybe they feel
like they have unfinished business in the world they created, so they
write a follow-up book. I feel as if it's the same with me. I spent so
many years with Blackmoon Prophecy's setting that it really grew on me
and I didn't quite feel really to bid farewell to it. There's also the
fact that never before have I ever had people clammering for a sequel or
more content. I tried to do something original with Shattered Wings,
but the reception just wasn't there. My projects get the most attention
and exposure when they are fangames, so I decided to make a sequel to a
fangame that I knew people would pay attention to rather than an
original game that would disappear in the vast sea of games on RMN.
If it's set in the same world, are we going to visit the same places? Will the world map be the same?
The world is the same, only 100 years later. Large chunks of land
were cut away when I was brainstorming the world. The loss of so much
land then developed into part of the story. I did not make a carbon copy
of the original world map because, if I did, players would be exploring
the same map again and there wouldn't be a sense of discovery or
exploration. The new world map is
based on the third and final
world map from the first game. I've taken a lot of creative liberties to
change it (aside from the sinking lands, which is explained in-game)
such as altering paths on the world map and putting mountain chains and
such in places where there weren't any before. As a result, returning
players will have a greater sense of adventure and discovery than if I
simply recreated a previous world map.
Will having experience or knowledge from the first game be necessary to play Blackmoon Prophecy II?
No. The two games are set in the same world but tell vastly
different stories and you do not need to play one to understand the
other. Think of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, you do not need to
understand the events of Chrono Trigger to be able to fully enjoy Chrono
Cross. Same deal here. All important events from the first game will
also be summarized so that new players can understand what went down one
hundred years ago.
How many references will there be to other Final Fantasy titles, or even the first Blackmoon Prophecy?
Things got a little silly at the end of Blackmoon Prophecy, with
EVERYTHING being named after a piece of Final Fantasy history. This is
not the case here, as I'm sticking more originality into the sequel. I
am still retaining names that I used in the first game of towns that
have survived since ten (Albrook, Crescent Village, Kaipo, Mystic
Mysidia, etc.), but I won't introducing any new towns based on old ones
so don't expect to see Fabul or Narshe surface. There will be a lot of
things returning from the first game to keep returning players feeling a
sense of familiarity such as the GPS pads on the world map, so expect
more kupoing as you adventure across the world!
Any neat things being added that weren't in the first game?
Crafting will play a much larger role, as weapons will be able to be
upgraded like in Final Fantasy VIII. Crafting will be the primary way
to obtain weapons, but they will still be able to be found using other
means. There will also be a military base in which the player can
purchase cosmetic upgrades for and bring in NPCs to fill the place up.
The NPCs themselves will mostly all fill vital roles such as selling
goods, providing crafting/upgrading services, giving out side-quests,
and being tied to minigames. Achievements, a bestiary, Tetra Master (a
disguised version of Triple Triad) and more are also present.
What characters are not returning from the first game?
Godot and Jasmine are the only returning main characters from the
first game, though Siegfried's armor returns and is worn by a new person
(Silas). Many magic-based NPCs return such as various Espers, and a few
deceased characters will return in one form or another.
What locations are not returning from the first game?
There are several of these. Notable locations that aren't returning
include Branch Castle, Cave of Surt, Jack's Shack, Meksicburg Port,
Mohadmal Pyramid, Mount Mysidia, Mount Ozma, Silvera, Surgate, Tower of
Babil, Tower of Trial. Most of those locations were lost to the ocean
with various lands sinking. The only exceptions are Mount Mysidia (rock
slides have blocked it) and Tower of Trial (Nobumasa had it torn down
after becoming grandmaster).
How easy or hard will the game be?
I want this game to be challenging. It will be
very easy to
wander into areas you shouldn't be in, and optional dungeons meant for
end-game play will be visitable early in. The four kingdoms in the game
each have a degree of open world exploration to them, so it is not
impossible to find yourself somewhere you'll quickly regret entering. I
also aim to have bosses be tough as nails. Random encounters won't be
terribly challenging since they'll be all over the place, but bosses? I
want you guys to fight for your lives. Literally.
Is there going to be more than one world map again?
There will only be a world map of Gaia's surface, but the Underworld
will still be in the game as a series of individual location maps.
Regarding the Underworld, it's probably not going to look anything like
it did in Blackmoon Prophecy after quite a lot of weird underground
activity over the last hundred years.
Will there be a lot of super bosses again? Or hidden characters like Bosche and Jasmine in the first game?
There are seven planned super bosses and two hidden characters.
What graphical style is being used?
Blackmoon Prophecy II abandons the FF4/FF5 chibi style in favour of a
presentation that is closer to Final Fantasy VI. Everything's bigger
now, and it will be fun to remake unchanged locations from the old game
in this new style. The first Blackmoon Prophecy felt like an homage to
Final Fantasy IV more than any other game but, with this sequel, I want
to have nostalgic feelings of Final Fantasy VI resonate in my players.
If the first game had this new style, the following sprites (left to
right) would accurately represent Gilgamesh, Darius, Vahn and... well,
the female sprite doesn't resemble anyone from the first game.
You say that you want to evoke FF6 nostalgia, but <insert thing here> wasn't in Final Fantasy VI...
I use Final Fantasy VI as
inspiration, not a source of
material that I want to copy 100%. The battle system, learning black
magic via tomes, upgrading weapons, and other concepts that were not in
Final Fantasy VI. I simply want my resources and chosen music to evoke
fond memories of Final Fantasy VI. I'm not aiming to recreate the
experience that Square provided in that game.
Do you want help?
Yes. If you think that you can contribute in any way at all
(graphics, music, scripting, anything) then send me a message. I'll
likely post when I'm looking for someone to help me with something but,
if I don't have a recently posted request, don't let that deter you! I'd
love to hear from you!
