Ruli City Detailed at The Last Story Blog

Nintendo updated the development blog for The Last Story today. The first entry, shared last week, was titled "Island" and covered the game's setting of Ruli Island. Today's column is titled "City" and covers the primary city of "Ruli City."

The column shows a map of the city along with some concept art:

The English text in the lower right corner of the map tells the background story of Ruli Island. This was detailed last week.

In today's column, the game's director wrote that in creating Ruli City, he wanted to convey the feeling of actually being there. He also mentioned game-like elements for the city -- the changing reactions of passersby, things flying in the wind, and even "desperate escapes."

Wrote the director, "Prior to creating the city, we visited small towns in France and Italy. It was for research. Of course, it's a fantasy virtual world, so there's no need to make it match reality. However, by incorporating architectural designs that were made to support life over a long history, we will be able to build a convincing world."

Ruli City serves as the base of your adventures, said the director.

The game's producer, presumably Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi, made note of some of the differences in design between Ruli City and the cities you find in other RPGs. In most RPGs, he explained, designers add dead ends to road ways and create wide roads, all in an effort to keep the player from getting lost. "However, the city of The Last Story is expansive, and if you walk a good amount, you'll probably get lost. There are few dead ends, and a large number of narrow roadways."

"There's a reason for this type of setting. Please, walk around Ruli City aimlessly to experience that reason."