Nomura: Final Fantasy XV will retain the feeling of an “old school” Final Fantasy

Last month at E3, Square Enix not only surprised the world by revealing the title now known as Final Fantasy XV, but also used the event to reveal the long-anticipated Kingdom Hearts III. While we’ve learned much about both games in the weeks prior, many have started to wonder if director Tetsuya Nomura would be able to keep his promises from interviews past. Though Nomura himself is one of few words, Final Fantasy World had a chance to catch up with him at Japan Expo to discuss both titles while fielding some unique questions.

[Abash]

I trust Nomura to undo the damage that the FFXIII series did to the brand

[Neoninja]

I agree. I'm really looking forward to FF15 and Kingdom Hearts 3 for that matter.

All I ask is they have likeable characters, a great story, and exploration. Things that 13 lacked in my opinion.

[Funnymonkey013]

Completely agree yo X13 series has the worst chars. And story by far in a JRPG games the chars were beyond annoying and just wanted them to dye at the end. Story was complete crap that makes no fucking sense and just boring as hell. Anyway I'm really excited 4 XV as that's looks like what a true FF game should be like with really kool looking and interesting chars. And a exciting dark story to boot as well.

[Craigatorian]

I liked Final Fantasy XIII, not the greatest thing it could have been, but more solid than other RPGs out in the 360/PS3 market.

[Godmars290]

With two direct sequels already planned, I'll have to wait and see...from my pit of negativity...

[user5575708]

i trust him as well but IMO to get back a true "old school" feel to the final fantasy series we need to see a retro style final fantasy like Final Fantasy I-VI

[TheDivine]

God I've been dying for a beautiful sprite based FF. The 3ds would be perfect for one IMO. Even with something like 15 they could still do old school things like an airship, world map exc. Ni No Kuni is the perfect example of a modern jrpg that still feels "classic" if you will. Its like a HD snes rpg. It isn't hard, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Tales all had a world map, airships, boats, exc. keep some staples of the series around. Just because tech moved on doesn't mean we always want a seamless open world, action battles, or things of that nature.

But yes any old school FF would rock. A FF6 remake seems ripe for the picking.

[iamtehpwn]

It will never cease to make me laugh how "Where's Versus XIII??? Versus XIII will be a TRUE Final Fantasy game" has some how mysteriously turned into "Final Fantasy XV will ruin Final Fantasy forever because it is not turn based."

[Godmars290]

More like Square Enix has never shown the ability to make a FF titles on par to Squaresoft.

Really, besides Crisis Core, they've only strived towards generalization of character and world. Something they could make endless sequels of.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

And this pretty much solidifies FFXV being the Final Fantasy game we have been waiting for since FFX.

I know a good portion of fans want turn based battle system, but when they eventually pick up XV they will realize that XV is indeed the direction Final Fantasy needed to go.

Nomura is pushing FF in a new direction that FF needs to go all while retaining the old school FF feel. Can't get much better that. FFXV is looking good.

[Darrius Cole]

I think I am about at the point where all I want is a date. I've been waiting on this game for 7 years and they haven't even told me when it is releasing.

At this rate they are going to have me waiting for 10 years. Somehow I have a problem with knowing that I have been waiting for a game for 10 years.

[Pisque]

Another reason to not buy FFXV, along with that B-series storyline

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

What are you talking about?. How is Nomura making a Final Fantasy game that feels like an old school FF game a reason to not buy it?. My entire body hurts from reading such a ridiculous comment.

[CarlosX360]

I agree with everything this guy said. ^

[Flipgeneral]

The trailer at e3 did invoke "old school" FF feelings. Looks like a new direction to me!

[Snookies12]

You already know it has a B-series storyline? Wow, so you already played the game then? That's awesome, you're pretty special to have played a game with no release date yet!

Trolling's bad, m'kay?

[Funnymonkey013]

Dude STFU really old school FF games kills every new FF games release so far and X13 series is by far the worst piece of shit that ever existed in a FF game. Ur comment is nothing but complete BS now go and get ur shitty brain fixed would ya:)

[Lord_Sloth]

Yes, we should all play Grade A marine stories where the plot twist is always...

http://www.slamonlineph.com...

[Zezo]

I bet he never played a final fantasy game before and he's just talk crap.

[CarlosX360]

lol. You and I think alike. I didn't realize someone else posted that until I posted mine.

[noctis_lumia]

or he started with 13 lol

[wishingW3L]

I too think that's the most believable theory... His first FF was 13.

[CarlosX360]

You obviously have not played any of the Final Fantasy games.

What a ridiculous comment.

[BlaqMagiq24]

Guessing you never played a classic Final Fantasy How bout playing one before saying that?

[Dj7FairyTail]

Not with that Battle System and no playable Female Characters!

Screw you Square Enix. Square Soft man I missed them.

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

When asked about female characters at one point he said he can't talk about that at the moment so to me that means there will be at some point perhaps. Yes the battle system is an action style but we get towns,airships,world map, NPC's to talk to, and chocobo's not to mention much more so I would definitely say this is going to feel like a classic Final Fantasy game.

[Funnymonkey013]

Screw u lol:)

[LordNikon]

@Dj7Fairytail

Did u even read? He didn't say this will be JUST like an OLD SCHOOL Final Fantasy game. He said he wants to give it SOME of that old school Final Fantasy feel. In other words, elements from the previous games will be present in this game. Like a world map, traversing the world map, chocobo's, towns, and ecetera. An action-based FF game can still give players that nostalgia.

[Dj7FairyTail]

It not giving me any nostalgia feel from what I seen.

And where did I say it will be the same.
Quote on Quote

[LordNikon]

You're misunderstanding. The trailors that were shown showed nothing that its descendants were loved or popular for, like a open world, exploring cities, chocobo's or whatever elements gives u that FF feel. But Nomura said that some of that will be in the game, it just wasn't in the portion that was shown in the E3 trailors.

Read properly dude. I never said that u said that it will be the same. But u did imply that this game isn't "old school", which is what i was addressing.

[Eamon]

Have any of you guys played Crisis Core?

That was an action jrpg and it reeked of nostalgia and 'old-school FF.'

It definitely is possible. Even with a completely different battle system.

[Dj7FairyTail]

@Seathe

Are you sure you played the pass FF games because it seems like you haven't.

World Map =/= Open World
If it doesn't plays like FFIV-X it ain't worst my time.

[LordNikon]

@Dj7FairyTail

Are you sure you are reading my comments properly? Because it doesn't seem like it as you seem to be completely missing my point's.

The game IS going to have a world map and will be open world. The only thing that's vastly different is the battle system. They already confirmed years ago that outside the place where the trailors took place, will be a traditional FF world.

[ape007]

im not a fan of JRPG or WRPG but i played some RPG games and one of them was FF10, it's the only FF game that i have played and what a game that was, one of the best games on ps2. period, my friends say that the series went downhill since 10 but i really have no right to judge because im not a huge fan

so i hope this FF turns good for all u FF and RPG fans :)

[Brucis]

FFX was pretty good, yeah. FFXI was an incredibly popular MMO, FFXII I liked but was pretty debated among fans. FFXIII is generally disliked, at least in the west, for lack of exploration, towns and other FF staples. FFXIII-2 fixed the exploration part and made the gameplay more fun, but the story was kinda lacking IMO and there were only two permanent party members with other slots being taken up by monsters you recruited.

[wishingW3L]

FF13-2 didn't fix crap, it was even worse than the first. Worse story, worse music, worse characters, same retarded battle system....

[CarlosX360]

FFX is JRPG. Any game before FFX was pure JRPG.

[Benjammin25]

I'll believe it when I see it. But I do trust this guy. He actually gives a shit about the games he makes.

[iliimaster]

old school final fantasy is turned based battle system anything else is GARBAGE and world of warcrafty

[Brucis]

Many of the FF games people call 'classic/old school FF' used the ATB system, now hush.

[CarlosX360]

Well, yes, but I think Nomura is talking about the feel of Final Fantasy - as in, the worlds they were inhabited in, crazy bosses, weird but cool characters, the list goes on.

Turn Based or ATB is a thing of the past. Action RPG's are the future.

[iliimaster]

final fantasy 1-10 x2 all turn based and after that the series fell out of favor they gained new fans while forgetting who got them there... im about as die hard as it comes to being a fan of the franchise my sole purchase of the ps3 was based on the game only to find out they wanted to copy world of warcraft... why are they struggling so much to sell games since they got rid of turn based battle system? wake up they are a joke...

[Irishguy95]

Gthankfully turn based does not define ff. That was the worat aspect of this great series

[modesign]

i hope this actually releases unlike FFXIII vs.

[Brucis]

XV is Versus XIII, they just changed the name.

[Zeroyosh]

In my Opinion, Final Fantasy Has not had great game play since they shed the turn based combat. there was a level of depth that turn based brought to the table, that the modern style of combat in FF games just doesn't have. button mashing auto fight really killed my love for FF games.

Seeing mobs in game is fine. but the encounter with said mob should be reigned back into a turned based system, again in my opinion. Yes it slows the game down.

Nothing beats back in the day when to beat a boss with heavy magic damage, casting reflect on all your characters and the mob , so that its magic was reflected back on him, and you could cast heals on the mob to heal your party, or killing zombied characters with heals, or know when the right time to buff yourself, and heal yourself. to ensure survival.

[Irishguy95]

Lets hope they learn from other action rpgs with depth. Imo the ff battle systems were very simple and had little depth. The character progressipn was the only thing with depth. But nomura has proven himself capable with battle systems imo. Action rpgs have certainly surpassed ff combat. Plus...ff lost its way not due to the combat syatem they took iut verything that ever made ff special. They are bringing it back with ffxb

[Brucis]

So most FF games, starting with IV, were bad? Seeing as they mostly used the ATB system instead of a turn based one.

[Zeroyosh]

I would say since 10 10-2. atb was still turn based. course many people loathe and detest random battle encounters, FF Games before XII did it. me personally, I didn't mind it.

[CrossingEden]

nothing in that trailer indicated that this will be anything like old school final fantasy -_- especially considering that a few years ago he said the opposite

[Irishguy95]

No he said this game reminds him of old ffs so mucj. But they were taking action over turn based. Read the interviews. Id gladly take a cinematic boss fight over the turn based ones we used to have

[wishingW3L]

the scope, summons, enemies and victorian art-style of FF6 didn't remind you to the old-school FF games? Really?

And what he said years ago was in relation to the battle system and story being darker but he's not saying that this game will be like the old-school games either, just that there will be elements reminiscent to it.

[My_Name_BTW_Is_Dante]

lol, no it won't. It looks like even less of a Final Fantasy game than FF13. It's definitely nowhere close to an old school Final Fantasy either. This is nothing but a spin-off of Kingdom Hearts with "Final Fantasy" slapped on the box. It's "Final Fantasy" in name only.

The reason the games did so well in the past was because they were turnbased and they kept the formula all the way up to FF10. Then Square-Enix happened and the games started going downhill until the point where they became irrelevant.

[Brucis]

>The reason the games did so well in the past was because they were turnbased and they kept the formula all the way up to FF10.

They didn't. This seems to be a common misconception that FF was always turn-based an only recently moved away. Games as early as IV moved away from the turn-based system and used the ATB system or a variant of it and came back to it with X.

[Irishguy95]

Lol. What idiot would see turn based as a good thing when the never played it before? Ff became popular because of the story. Lenght setting and gameplay( open world, rpg etc).

[wishingW3L]

this man speaks the truth. What makes FF feel like a FF game is the scope of the games not the battle system. And at the of the day, the battle systems were very simplistic anyway.

The side-quests, the epic story-line, the characters, setting, the customization, the locations you visit, etc. that's what FF has always been about. Meanwhile, they turned it into a boring corridor of death in FF13 with poor characters and absolutely confusing story-line all hidden in data-logs in the menu....

[Zeroyosh]

I have to agree here. Turn based really made FF series great.

FFXV has potential, especially if they play up the party interaction the way I say in the trailer of recent, very ala Chrono Cross or legend of Dragoon. that could be amazingly interesting. and I really really hope there is some from of aeon, summons in this game. that is also a part of FF that when taken away will just not be enjoyable.

[Irishguy95]

There are summons in ffxv :)

[CLOUD1983]

There is nothing Nomura can do to make this game feel old-school from the moment it have this KH battle system, nothing! for years now I read from old-school FF fans what FF need in order to be good again, & all of them say one thing, "give us the option to control/give orders to all the characters not only 1!" that means with few words go back to ATB battle system but SE ignore the fans they don't listen & that's why the fans ignore them also & not buy their games & SE have those "financial" probs, they deserve to go bankrupt for ignoring the fans all those years.

[NukeDaHippies]

it's a little sad to see ff turn it's back on turn based combat. But i love shin megami tensei and persona so i'll let them serve me that dish from now on (i reccomend the same to turn based fans). That said i'v been lookin forward to versus 13 since it was announced and i love kh2 so i'm cool with it's gameplay style.