here seems to be a lot of confusion around Square Enix’s Infinite Undiscovery. Last year at the Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft held appointments to talk about their collaboration with Tri-Ace for this Japanese RPG. Mysteriously, this game dropped off the map until just recently at Microsoft’s pre-TGS press briefing, where it was revealed that this project would be a collaboration between Microsoft, Tri-Ace, and RPG powerhouse Square Enix. Today, we finally got a much better understanding about what this game was all about in a round table discussion with the heads of the development team.
 
Infinite Undiscovery is an action RPG from the minds of Hiroshi Ogawa, Tri-Ace Main Planner for Star Ocean III and Valkyrie Profile, and Square Enix Producer Hajime Kojima, who also happens to be working on the recently announced Star Ocean IV. An odd game title, Infinite Undiscovery is a word they created, and has its roots in discovery and the fun of finding things. Within this world, there are things that are hidden in which you’ll uncover. So what will players actually discover? When players find something, it will actually affect the game and cause an impact that will change the world.

In Infinite Discovery, the moon has mysterious special powers that it gives to the world’s inhabitants. There’s a villain that harnesses the power of the moon by enchanting it to draw its power away, and the world is losing its light of hope. There’s a hero in this world who tries to save the world by cutting those chains. However, this hero isn’t exactly the main character. Players will take the role of a minstrel named Capel, who ironically physically looks identical to the hero, and that’s how he becomes wrapped up in the conflict. However, that’s not the only special thing about Capel—there are secrets to his past, his relationship with the hero and more. Apparently, there’s something Capel can do that the hero can’t. Aya is the main female character who fights alongside the hero, and she also mistakes Capel for being the hero as well. Capel gets tied in with the hero and Aya, and all three end up fighting for the same cause.

The basic control functions and battle style will be similar to Star Ocean III. The game will be comprised of situational battles and real time battles. Unlike Star Ocean III, however, where you initiate combat when you come in contact with the enemies, the battlefields are seamless, and players will move from the real world straight into battle. Situational elements such as ogres attacking you from the sides, or tsunamis taking place in the middle of battle will change how battles will unfold. Since you’ll be controlling a party in these real-time battles, your party members will be AI controlled. But there will be new systems in place to allow the player to direct the AI characters in battle, in which Tri-Ace is not currently revealing. Could Tri-Ace borrow something like the Gamuts from Final Fantasy XII? As events happen around the battlefield, the field itself changes. For example when there’s a dragon in back of the battlefield, the smaller enemies will be effected by the dragon, in a way that we’re assuming will modify or benefit their attacks or stamina.

With Xbox 360 RPGs such as Blue Dragon or Mass Effect using downloadable content to extend the storyline of an RPG, Tri-Ace is mulling over the possibility of having some sort of downloadable content, although they’re not quite sure that’s a viable way to extend the story. That being said, Microsoft is interested in Tri-Ace using Xbox Live in some fashion, whether that’s downloadable content or marketplace items is still being determined.

With Square Enix having a game like The Last Remnant that’s meant to please western audiences with its design, Tri-Ace is creating Infinite Undiscovery as a game with worldwide appeal in mind. However, with having its team’s pedigree based around Star Ocean, the game looks much like a traditional Square Enix title. Tri-Ace is aware of the troubles Microsoft is facing in Japan with the Xbox 360 sales, however, they’re hoping Infinite Undiscovery will help promote the platform and lure more Japanese gamers into purchasing the console.