Free Web NovelChapter 1247: Chapter 1170 March Task.
First of all, ZAGE was releasing a total of five games this month. RAN Online had already launched in early-to-mid March 2001, and after that, four more titles were scheduled to arrive near the end of the month. For any normal company, that kind of release schedule would already be considered extremely aggressive. But for ZAGE, this was simply another packed month inside their massive development machine.
The upcoming titles included Age of Empires 2 from Team Tempest on PC, while Valkyrie Profile, Trails in the Sky Part 2, and Vagrant Story came from Team NIWA. Each of these projects carried different importance for ZAGE. Age of Empires 2 strengthened their PC strategy, while Team NIWA’s releases continued reinforcing ZAGE’s reputation as one of the strongest JRPG developers in the world. Because of this, Zaboru was already preparing to assign new tasks carefully, making sure every team’s workload stayed balanced instead of simply forcing them to produce nonstop.
First, Zaboru reviewed Team Tempest. Right now, their remaining workload was still heavy. They had three major projects left: Baldur’s Gate 2, which was expected to release on PC in June 2001; Driver, which was expected to release in May 2001; and Doom 3, which was scheduled for August 2001. That alone already made Team Tempest one of the busiest teams inside ZAGE. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Because of that, Zaboru had no intention of adding another task to them for now. Even if Team Tempest was talented, he knew overloading them would only damage quality in the long run. Instead, after their current projects were completed, Zaboru planned to give them proper rest days before shifting their focus toward ZEPS 4 game development. After all, the next generation was coming, and Team Tempest would become one of ZAGE’s most important weapons for the PC and ZEPS 4 era.
Next, Zaboru reviewed Team NIWA. Compared to Team Tempest, their remaining workload was much lighter. Right now, their only active remaining task was Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, which was scheduled for release in May. Because of that, Zaboru decided it was safe to assign them two additional projects, though he still kept the number lower than usual to avoid exhausting the team after their recent heavy JRPG releases.
And of course, because this was Team NIWA, the new projects had to be JRPGs. Team NIWA was one of ZAGE’s strongest pillars when it came to character-driven stories, emotional worldbuilding, party-based combat, and long-form narrative development. Giving them anything outside that specialty would honestly feel like wasting their greatest strength.
The first new project would be Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter, which would close the current Trails in the Sky era properly. The second would be Final Fantasy IX, planned as one of the final major JRPGs for the ZEPS 3 generation. Both titles were important in different ways. Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter would give satisfying closure to an already beloved storyline, while Final Fantasy IX would become a grand farewell love letter to classic fantasy before ZAGE fully shifted its JRPG ambitions toward the ZEPS 4 era.
Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter would serve as the proper closure for the Trails in the Sky era. From Zaboru’s previous life, he remembered this installment very fondly because it handled a large cast of characters surprisingly well. Normally, when a JRPG brought back too many characters at once, the story could easily become messy, crowded, or unfocused. But Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter managed that problem beautifully. Instead of making the cast feel bloated, the game gave each character meaningful moments, emotional closure, and enough presence to remind players why they cared about them in the first place.
That was what impressed Zaboru the most. The game did not simply gather characters for fan service. It respected their journeys. Each returning party member felt like they still had a purpose, whether through personal scenes, emotional memories, small interactions, or connections to the larger worldbuilding. Because of that, the large cast became satisfying instead of overwhelming. It felt less like the game was forcing too many people into one story and more like it was giving a final celebration to everyone who had carried the Trails in the Sky era.
Zaboru also liked how the game encouraged players to care about the entire party mechanically. In some RPGs, players could simply focus on a few favorite characters and ignore everyone else. But Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter punished that habit in a clever way, especially near the final Chapter, where all party members needed to participate. If players neglected too many characters and failed to level them properly, they would suffer badly near the end. To Zaboru, that was actually good design because it forced players to appreciate the full cast instead of treating half of them as benchwarmers. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Another important part was Estelle and Joshua finally becoming a proper couple in this third installment. After everything they had gone through, seeing their relationship reach that point felt deeply satisfying for many players and for Zaboru himself. Their romance did not feel rushed or cheap. It felt earned, built from previous emotional struggles, separation, loyalty, and growth. That kind of payoff was exactly why Trails in the Sky stayed memorable in Zaboru’s mind.
That was why Zaboru wanted Team NIWA to end the Trails in the Sky era properly with this game. He already had bigger plans for the Trails series once ZAGE fully entered the ZEPS 4 generation, especially with the Crossbell arc, which was one of his favorite JRPG arcs from his previous life. If Trails in the Sky was the foundation, then "Crossbell Saga" would be where the series could go completely insane in scope, politics, mystery, and emotional payoff.
The "Crossbell Arc," consisting of Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, was one of the best JRPG experiences Zaboru had ever played in his previous life. Unlike Trails in the Sky, which focused more on adventure and traveling across different regions, the Crossbell games felt far more grounded and politically tense. Almost the entire story revolved around Crossbell City itself, a place trapped between massive powers and filled with corruption, crime, political conflict, underground organizations, and social inequality.
That setting alone already made the series feel completely different.
Instead of becoming wandering adventurers, the protagonists worked more like detectives and problem-solvers through the Special Support Section. Because of that, the story structure became much more personal and immersive. Players slowly learned about Crossbell’s citizens, districts, gangs, politicians, businesses, police, and hidden conflicts over time, making the city itself feel alive.
Another reason Zaboru loved the Crossbell Arc was because the cast size felt more controlled compared to Trails in the Sky. There were still many important characters, but the core party remained focused enough that every member received strong development and memorable emotional moments. Lloyd’s determination, Elie’s political struggles, Tio’s emotional growth, and Randy’s hidden past all blended together extremely well.
And despite introducing a new cast, the games still respected the older Trails in the Sky characters beautifully. Returning characters did not simply appear for nostalgia. Their presence felt natural and meaningful to the world itself. Seeing old characters interact with the new generation created an incredibly satisfying sense of continuity, making the Trails universe feel genuinely connected instead of separated into isolated stories.
To Zaboru, that was the true strength of the Crossbell Arc.
It combined detective storytelling, political tension, emotional character writing, worldbuilding continuity, and long-term payoff into one incredibly memorable JRPG experience. If Trails in the Sky built the emotional foundation of the series, then Crossbell was where the Trails franchise truly started becoming something extraordinary.
Next was Final Fantasy IX, which would become the last Final Fantasy title released on ZEPS 3. In Zaboru’s previous life, fans often debated whether Final Fantasy IX or Final Fantasy VII deserved to be called the best Final Fantasy ever. The debate was strong because both games excelled in different ways. Final Fantasy VII had revolutionary impact, cinematic presentation, and unforgettable cultural weight, while Final Fantasy IX felt like a beautiful farewell to the classic fantasy identity of the series.
That was exactly why Zaboru wanted to bring Final Fantasy IX into this world and enhance it even further. To him, Final Fantasy IX was special because its story looked charming and simple on the surface, but underneath that colorful fantasy presentation, it explored surprisingly deep themes about identity, mortality, belonging, purpose, and what it meant to truly live. Zidane’s cheerful personality, Vivi’s quiet struggle with existence, Garnet’s growth as a ruler, Steiner’s loyalty, and even Kuja’s fear of death all gave the story emotional weight that stayed with players long after the game ended.
The gameplay was also one of the reasons Final Fantasy IX worked so well. It returned to a more traditional fantasy structure with clear character roles, making every party member feel distinct. Instead of everyone becoming too similar through flexible systems, each character had their own identity in battle. Zidane was fast and reliable, Vivi brought powerful black magic, Garnet and Eiko carried summoning and healing roles, Steiner delivered heavy knight attacks, Freya offered dragoon utility, and so on. That made party composition feel meaningful.
Zaboru also liked the ability system tied to equipment because it encouraged players to experiment with different weapons and armor instead of always chasing raw stats. Learning abilities from gear created a satisfying loop where players constantly had reasons to use new equipment, master skills, and customize their party gradually. Combined with Active Time Battle, charming exploration, minigames, side quests, and memorable locations, Final Fantasy IX became a JRPG that felt both nostalgic and refined.
For Zaboru, Final Fantasy IX was not only another major JRPG project. It was the perfect final love letter for the ZEPS 3 Final Fantasy era before ZAGE moved toward bigger, more cinematic, and more ambitious Final Fantasy projects on ZEPS 4.
Just like the Trails series, Zaboru already had massive plans for Final Fantasy once ZAGE fully entered the ZEPS 4 era. Final Fantasy was one of the core pillars of ZAGE’s JRPG identity, so there was no way he would allow the franchise to stagnate. In fact, Zaboru intended for the ZEPS 4 generation to become the era where Final Fantasy evolved into something even more ambitious, cinematic, emotional, and technologically impressive than before.
The jump toward ZEPS 4 hardware would allow far larger worlds, better animations, more expressive characters, advanced visual effects, improved voice acting integration, and much more detailed storytelling presentation. And honestly, Zaboru already had several legendary Final Fantasy titles from his previous life in mind that could become absolute monsters once rebuilt properly with ZAGE’s technology and development power.
One of them was definitely Final Fantasy X, a game Zaboru remembered as strangely goofy at times, yet emotionally powerful when it truly mattered. Its world, characters, and atmosphere carried a very different flavor from the classic fantasy style of Final Fantasy IX. Instead of castles, knights, and medieval kingdoms, Final Fantasy X would bring players into Spira, a world filled with tropical beauty, religious tension, strange technology, haunting traditions, and the constant shadow of death caused by Sin.
That contrast was exactly what made the game special in Zaboru’s mind. Tidus could be loud, awkward, and sometimes unintentionally funny, but that also made him feel different from the usual JRPG protagonist. His confusion helped players experience Spira naturally, while Yuna’s calm determination gave the story its emotional center. Their relationship started with innocence and awkwardness, but slowly became one of the strongest emotional hooks in the entire game.
Zaboru also knew Final Fantasy X had moments that could become iconic if handled properly. The pilgrimage, the summoners, the guardians, the mystery of Sin, Blitzball, the tragic truth behind the world, and the bittersweet ending all had massive potential. If ZAGE fully enhanced the cinematic direction, facial animation, voice acting, music, and battle presentation, then Final Fantasy X could become one of the defining JRPGs of the ZEPS 4 generation.
Because of that, Zaboru knew the team could not treat it as an ordinary sequel. They needed to go all out. The visuals had to feel breathtaking, the music had to hit emotionally, the voice performances had to be carefully directed, and the combat system needed to feel smooth, strategic, and modern. If Final Fantasy IX was the final love letter to classic fantasy on ZEPS 3, then Final Fantasy X would become the first major declaration of what Final Fantasy could become on ZEPS 4.
That was why he was already carefully reorganizing manpower across multiple ZAGE teams. Even though March remained extremely crowded with ongoing projects, releases, patches, online game support, and future planning, Zaboru had already started quietly shifting certain developers, artists, and technical staff toward early ZEPS 4 preparation.
Because once the next generation fully began, ZAGE could not afford to move slowly.
They needed to dominate immediately.
And with how aggressive the gaming industry was becoming, especially with Microsoft now actively pushing X-box harder into the global market, Zaboru knew the next few years would become far more competitive than before.
Still, instead of feeling pressured, Zaboru honestly felt excited.
Because for him, the ZEPS 4 era would become the beginning of a completely new golden age for gaming.
Meanwhile, ZEMITSU was now reviewing ZAGE’s March game lineup.
To be continue
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