Yasumi Matsuno, the producer of Final Fantasy XII and the creator of Quest's Ogre Battle series, talked about his projects in this week's edition of the Japanese publication Famitsu. Matsuno will serve as the producer of the recently announced Final Fantasy Tactics for the Game Boy Advance. "The actual development team is composed of former staff members from Quest, who have previous experience working on a GBA title," Matsuno said. "Initially, this had nothing to do with the recent Square-Nintendo announcement. Around the end of last year, there were talks about working on a title together. Later on, our plans for a GBA title came about, so this fit in perfectly, and planning stages for the game began around February of this year." The GBA version of the game will not be a straight port from the PlayStation version. Instead, the game will be rearranged slightly so it's more suitable for the handheld. For example, a quick-save function will be added to the game so short play sessions are more convenient. Currently 30 percent complete, Final Fantasy Tactics for the GBA is expected for a winter release in Japan.

　　Furthermore, Matsuno provided an update on Final Fantasy XII for the PlayStation 2: "The development has not progressed too far. [laughs] Our development staff, including myself, were involved in working on PlayOnline until the fall of last year, so the actual development for FFXII began around the end of last year." FFXII is scheduled for release sometime in Square's 2003 fiscal year.

　　And lastly, regarding the Ogre Battle series, Matsuno commented, "SquareSoft has acquired the rights to the Ogre Battle series. This means that SquareSoft will publish future Ogre Battle titles. I will most likely be involved in working on the series, but since I am currently busy with FFXII, I think this is something that won't happen in the near future."