The 15th Final Fantasy doesn’t have a release date yet, nor does it even have a release year, but there’s still plenty of information floating around about the next entry in Square Enix’s titanic flagship series. What used to be called Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been in development for over seven years now, and it will be out for Xbox One and PS4 at some indeterminate point in the future. Let’s look at everything we know about the game so far.
(We’ll be updating this post every so often as we learn more about Final Fantasy XV, so stay tuned.)
The Trailers
Let’s start things off with some video footage. First there was the Versus reveal in 2006:
A big Versus trailer came out in 2011:
Then there was the re-reveal: in 2013, Versus morphed into Final Fantasy XV, now slated for Xbox One and PS4.
Finally, here’s some recent gameplay footage, also from 2013. Sure is pretty.
The Cast
There are five main party members in Final Fantasy XV, and if you think they look like a boy band, you’re not alone. Here are their official descriptions, via Square Enix:
Noctis Lucis Caelum: A childhood affliction endowed Noctis, heir apparent to the throne of Lucis, with the mystical power to see a heavenly light, through which he could sense others’ deaths. Noctis rejects rigid royal conventions and acts as somewhat of a renegade, much to the dismay of those who tend to him. Yet while “Noct” may act brash at times, he does so in defence of those loyal to him.
Gladiolus Amicitia: As lord of the noble House Amicitia, Gladiolus continues a line sworn to protect the crown. “Gladio” shares a friendship with Noctis that transcends birth and title, and his loyalty to his liege is born not of duty, but of brotherhood.
Ignis Scientia: Ever the unwavering voice of reason, Ignis was weaned on shrewd logic and a classical education from boyhood so that he might one day counsel the would-be king, Noctis. He applies the deep mutual understanding and trust they have built over time to help smooth over Noctis’s brusqueness with others.
Prompto Argentum: The puckish playboy Prompto befriended Noctis in his school days. He wears a chip on his shoulder as an outsider to the royal circle, but remains eager to do all he can for the cause.
Cor Leonis: A living legend of Lucian lore, Lord Commander Cor Leonis’s devotion to the art of war is surpassed only by that to his king. Little love is lost between the ill-starred stalwart and Noctis’s retinue, yet honour binds him to keep watch over the group all the same.
No women? We’ve seen a few appearances from a woman named Stella, who appears to play a pivotal role in the plot — like Noctis, she has a strange power related to the spirits of the dead — but Square Enix has stayed quiet about whether she, or any other women, will be playable in Final Fantasy XV.
We also know a little bit about a couple of the villains. There’s this guy, who doesn’t have a name but really wants to beat up Noctis’s dad (and steal his crystal).
And then there’s pink-haired umbrella man, who seems like one of those badass honorable villains that will eventually join and/or help out your party.
Oh, and there’s hair. Lots of hair.
“Sometimes I wish we had the easiness Western FPS (first-person shooters) have, to make everyone bald,” director Tetsuya Nomura told NBC. “We’re a company that’s known for unique hairstyles, but in a way we’re running out of ideas.”
The Story
Noctis n’ crew have got some struggles to overcome. Here’s Square’s story synopsis:
The only crystal left to the world lies in the Kingdom of Lucis. Upon striking a peace with the garrison state of Niflheim, Lucis rejoices in having at last brought the cold war to a close. Their celebrations, however, are premature. Under the guise of amity, Niflheim dispels the anti-armament runewall and launches a full-scale invasion of the kingdom. The peaceful lives Crown Prince Noctis and his entourage once knew are consumed by the flames of war as they struggle to mount a resistance.
Some other facts:
- This one is going to be darker than previous Final Fantasys. In a 2007 interview with Edge, Nomura specified: “In Versus XIII we want to elaborate more on the world and the human side of the characters, their way of thinking and how and why they behave like they do. This might take the game conception to a darker level than the other games in the FF series.”
- We’ll likely see at least one flashback to young Noctis — you can see him talking to his dad and eating nasty soup in the most recent trailer. No word yet whether we’ll be able to control Flashback Noctis.
- That Noctis you see in the E3 trailers, by the way, is super high-leveled. You won’t be able to use all those cool abilities from the getgo.
- Nomura: “I don’t like the extreme cases of tech or magic. If I choose, I choose a modern setting — but that’s not a good setting for a game. So if you look at “FFXV,” it starts in a very modern world similar to Shinjuku (in downtown Tokyo), but when the story starts, you go to the medieval world — but the weapons they are using are high tech-weapons; that kind of combo is what I like.”
The Combat
- Yes, it’s all in real time. You dash around the battlefield and attack baddies instantly.
- According to Nomura, Noctis can use a lot of different weapons: small swords, big swords, axes, lances, guns, etc.
- Noctis can warp short distances, proving my theory that Blink makes everything better.
- So far we know that Noctis’s buddies can join him in combat — and in the E3 gameplay trailer above, we see the main character’s friends assisting him against a giant monster — but we don’t know which of your party members’ actions are plot-driven and which you’ll get to control.
- Three people per party.
- Nomura: “The starting point will have a sense of control that is similar to that of Kingdom Hearts’ ‘easy and refreshing action,’ so it won’t be difficult. Most of it will come pretty naturally to you. We’re currently testing out different operational methods with each hardware. Regarding allies, in addition to cooperative attacks, there will also be situational actions, which will be part of various scenarios in battles.”
The World
- There are five major cities: Accordo, Lucis, Solheim, Tenebrae, and Niflheim. Niflheim is the evil one. Lucis is inspired by Tokyo, and governed by Noctis’s dad. Accordo is very much like Venice.
- Airships will return, according to Nomura. “You can fly across the world in an airship,” he said in a 2010 interview. Seems like there’s a world map!
- You can also control and ride a car and Magitek armour, a high-tech mech suit first introduced in Final Fantasy VI. Chocobos will be in at some point, too.
- In the E3 trailer, we see two familiar Final Fantasy monsters: the Iron Giant and the Behemoth. The summon Leviathan also makes an appearance.
- You’ll have to defeat each summon monster before it joins your team, similar to many older Final Fantasy games.
Oh, and Nomura has already started talking about a potential sequel. He thinks it’ll be tough to wrap up all of his vision for Final Fantasy XV in just one game.
Comments
21 responses to “Final Fantasy XV: Everything We Know”
It is a pity this looks so good, SE have disappointed so many times and broken so many promises, especially with the FF series, that it is hard to be excited for what will most likely be terrible.
Disappointed I get, but broken promises?
I don’t really understand why people seem upset by the lack of female characters in the party. Call me crazy, but characters like Vanille and Rikku (the Cookie Spice characters as Yahtzee like’s to call them) are usually teeth-grindingly painful to sit through. This might make for a nice change of pace.
I still refuse to think this will be terrible. I can’t wait.
Graphics in that 2013 footage look pretty sub-par if this is indeed coming out on the next gen consoles.
Because as well all know, graphics define the quality of a Final Fantasy game.
I truly loved FF8 and put hundreds of hours of gameplay into it.
every other one has left me dissapointed and I’ve never been able to get back into it…
FFXIII has left a very bitter taste in my mouth I’m afraid Squeenix. You’ll have to do a lot to prove that you’ve gone back to making great games that’re fun and absorbing to play. So far not much that I’ve seen has shown that. Yeah it looks fantastic, any FF will, but looks aren’t everything
“You’ll have to do a lot to prove that you’ve gone back to making great games that’re fun and absorbing to play.” Done. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
I had doubted it at first, but then I got to playing the beta and I found it incredibly difficult to stop playing. Now i’m incredibly sad that I won’t be getting the full game because of my low income.
Hear hear! I got into beta this passed weekend and it was pure awesomeness!!
Cant wait fr its release, but for now, im a happy puppy ^_^
Just remember, the game is not a free ride.
Looks pretty damn epic. Given this statement…
“Airships will return, according to Nomura. “You can fly across the world in an airship,” he said in a 2010 interview. Seems like there’s a world map!”
…then I’ll be cautiously optimistic. If reviews/previews indicate this won’t be a long run down a long corridor (like FF13) then I’ll probably give this a try!
Funny how XIII becomes XV.
if i made this game, i’d wanna distance this as much as possible from XIII too
It has basically nothing to do with Final Fantasy XIII. They have the same gods and it might take place in the same universe, but that’s it. Everything else is meant to be totally different.
I am actually REALLY excited for an action RPG FF. I liked earlier turn based battle games, and didn’t mind XIII too much but I LOVED XII because it was close to an action RPG but had so much depth, but did feel a bit cold just sitting there watching my team do stuff, So this will (hopefully) be the breath of fresh air the series kinda needs.
I thought it’s not coming to the 360 and One anymore because MS policies.
You’re thinking of Final Fantasy XIV, which is an MMO. They won’t release on Xbox due to Microsoft’s refusal to allow cross-platform gaming online.
That’s Final Fantasy XIV that’s not coming to Xbox consoles. This game was originally Versus XIII a PS3 exclusive but has since changed to XV and is being made for PS4 and Xbox One.
Seven damn years I’ve been waiting.. When this is finally released, people will think I have died when I go MIA for God knows how long, lol.
This looks disgusting, lost whole plot the ff genre, graphics looks beautiful but sorry chaps gameplay looks and feels shit. If I were I’d remake ff7 up ff12 in HD, they were epic, last couple of FF”s made I didn’t even bother and this is another, good luck on the bad game
After ff13-2 I just have up on ff games square Enix has really lost its touch with the ff franchise and I don’t think they’re getting it back! It looks ok I guess but nothing like a true ff game. I wonder if square even remember what made these games great on the first place? Cause they have really drawn away from everything that made the games great. I prefer the old battle system cause lets face it, it was fun. I know a lot of people will be saying but change is good and all that crap but go and play the original ones again and you’ll see what I mean.
This game looks great ! but i don’t see why so many ppl are angry about yeah ff13 and ff13-2 were not that good so what it doesn’t mean SE have lost there touch. I have played every ff game from 1-13-2 they are all great in some way. ffXV looks like it might be a very good game, we getting back our freedom with free roam, the story line ATM looks great, the battle system looks different, i prefer the old school battle system but hey you wont like it till you try it.