“The team has effectively drawn its inspiration from classical Japanese RPG such as the Final Fantasy series.”

Nintendo DS isn’t necessarily the platform gamers think of first when searching for RPGs. Thus far the DS has had two major success stories: Pokemon and Dragon Quest, both of which were sequels to existing (and hugely popular) franchises. We aren’t likely to see that change anytime soon. But if one more hit is to be added to that list, it could be Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A.

As the first RPG in the Code Lyoko series, Fall of X.A.N.A is clearly driven by the Final Fantasy style of gameplay. We spoke to the game’s Producer, Barthelemy Solas, to learn more about the game’s development. For a detailed look at how the Fall of X.A.N.A is coming together, don’t miss our hands-on preview.

Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A is a huge departure from its previous game, switching from third-person action to turn-based role-playing. Talk about this and the reason(s) for the switch.

Barthelemy Solas: The license of Code Lyoko is so rich that we could create many different type of gameplay experience. As the game is on Nintendo DS, we decided to produce a role-playing game perfectly adapted for the platform and executable thanks to this fantasy license.

In the preview build, the controls were almost entirely touch-based. Does this reflect the design of the final game, or will the D-pad offer control options as well?

BS: The controls are entirely touch-based in the game.

Players can choose to have any of the four characters as the lead character for exploration purposes. How will your choices influence the gameplay?

BS: The choice of the lead character doesn’t influence the gameplay, it’s just for the pleasure of the players. We know that the Lyoko fan would like to play with their favorite characters.

The RPG combat appears to draw its inspiration from Final Fantasy. Was that the developers' primary source of inspiration? Were there other sources?

BS: The team has effectively drawn its inspiration from classical Japanese RPG such as the Final Fantasy series. FF was not the only source of inspiration, others famous RPG had an influence during the design process, like for instance, Paper Mario on the N64.

What types of enemies will players have to battle?

BS: The players have to battle all the enemies of the series and some enemies designed exclusively for the games. Moreover, the players will have to brave the Koloss and five challenging bosses.

Code Lyoko's stellar video quality returns in this sequel. What new clips can we expect, and from what season of the show?

BS: The videos use for the game are originally from the season four of Code Lyoko. We have also created brand-new CGI sequences. You can expect, for example, some videos of the Koloss and more, but I will not spoil the surprises.

Is the story brand-new for this game?

BS: The story is based on season four of the series and adapted for the adventure on the Nintendo DS. This time, the players will have to defeat X.A.N.A., and rescue William.

Aside from the gameplay change, Fall of X.A.N.A also contains new features, such as a character plugins. How will these work and how will they benefit the player?

BS: Most of the upgrade system comes with the "functions" and "plugins" the player will unlock and found through his adventure. Plugins are equipments utilized to strengthen your characters, before a battle and it will allow the characters to be, more powerful or to give the possibility to regenerate there health point or even to scan the stat of the adversary.