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　　Zodiac - GDC 2015 Trailer

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　　Zodiac is a role-playing game in the classic style of Final Fantasy. It’s on mobile, utilizing touch to implement your commands. In a way it brings an intimacy to the genre that you can’t get on console or PC, allowing you to carry it with you but also physically touch the world.

　　Zodiac is in development with Kobojo, a company primarily focused on mobile games. Final Fantasy VII scenario writer Kazushige Nojima is penning it, and his storied experience is evident in the gameplay. During a brief hands-on with the title during GDC this week, I flew through a level completing a sidequest and battling a few mini bosses, then watched a cutscene. The idea of sandwiching levels between cutscenes is a very Final Fantasy thing to do; it’s a comforting formula. And although I didn’t get a chance to spend much time learning abut the characters, the party banter as they moved through the level was endearing enough to pique my interest.

　　Levels are set up similar to RPGs like Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown--on a side-scrolling 2D plane with 3D objects on it. You press the touchscreen in the direction you wish to go, avoiding enemies and collecting items. Your protagonist--currently unnamed in the English language version--flies through the world through the world on your griffin mount. You can move in any direction within a level and can backtrack. Occasionally floating orbs of purple mist will crop up; running into these will throw you into an enemy encounter.

　　Fighting enemies takes place on a different screen. It’s still 2D, but your character and the enemy face off at opposite ends of the screen, drawn in full 3D and bobbing along with the music as you prepare to fight.

　　Combat is turn-based, similar to classic RPGs. Each party member and enemy takes a turn, lashing out with claws or throwing out magic spells. You attack by tapping a party member when it’s his or her turn, and selecting an attack from a number of circles floating beside them. Attacks are representing with small pictures depicting lighting or fists, for example, and the number of skulls at the top of each picture shows how many enemies the attack will hit at once.

　　You can also change job classes mid-battle, and each job is ascribed an element according to a constellation of the zodiac. You can be a potion-wielding alchemist or a warrior, depending on what strategy you want to take, and can switch between all classes on the fly. It’s reminiscent of the Dressphere system in Final Fantasy X-2 and Schemata in Lightning Returns, where you could instantly change your job and the skills available to you at the push of a button. It’s a great addition to combat and allows you to quickly adjust your strategy depending on what enemies you’re facing.

　　Zodiac will also feature asynchronous and synchronous multiplayer. Friends can join your game online, stepping into your party and assisting you in combat. We haven’t seen multiplayer in action yet, so we can’t say much about it yet, but it seems like a neat idea.

　　Kobojo is aiming to launch Zodiac for iOS devices later this year.

　　Alexa Ray Corriea on Google+