Final Fantasy XV Finally Looks Like a Real Game

Push Square: "Wow, did you see that new Final Fantasy XV gameplay? If you didn't, I suggest that you go ahead and give it a watch through here, otherwise this particular soapbox won't hold much weight. Doesn't look too shabby, does it? Even editor Sammy Barker seems reasonably impressed by it, and we all know that he usually hates anything that doesn't feature cheap pop music."

[trywizardo]

i won't approve this shit
the graphics are top notch the scale is huge and the gameplay looks good

[aCasualGamer]

"Coming 2016....

...just kidding, it's coming out in 3016!"

[indyman7777]

Yeah I don't think they would have a press conference early in the year if it was not coming out in 2016.

Did any one else realize that this game did some things better than METAL GEAR SOLID? The stealth like options in the first part of the screen.
For the first minute 1:10 did you notice the options HOLD, WARP, and COVER. Then they started silent killing. Eventually becoming loud. (Yeah I know dont be offended it is not a serious stealth game like metal gear solid).

Then the kills, and battles of mechs was a nice touch.
THe mechs patrolling with soldiers! Taking over the Gatling guns showed you that they was sweet looking.

At this rate who needs snake? LOL....just kidding snake is THE MAN.

[UltraNova]

Looking good, really good. I have to admit part of me wants this to come out in 2017 so i can thoroughly enjoy it while taking my sweet time, a hard feed when all these must-play-to-death games are also coming out this year: DS3(I'll spent 500+ hrs on it easy), Uncharted 4, Horizon etc...

[Kalebninja]

It looked pretty real to me back in 2013... Speaking of which I wonder if we'll still be able to grab a soldier and smash them into a car like in the 2013 trailer.

[DarkOcelet]

Its Square Enix not Ubisoft so yes, you will be able to do that.

[Kalebninja]

well it's not like they haven't removed things already like character swapping so it's possible some things could have been removed when they changed the combat.

[miyamoto]

Now that is Microsoft money from Tomb Raider put to good use.

This game is gonna sell tons of PS4s.

My Uncharted JPop Fantasy... I hope it turns out great.

[Eamon]

@kalebninja, to be fair, the reason they removed that isn't the same reason why Ubisoft removes things. Square could add the feature to control all party members but they felt it wouldn't work gameplay-wise. Whereas, with Ubisoft, they deliberately release a demo showing stuff that would be unrealistic to do on a console hardware, then downgrade it after.

[Vanfernal]

Clearly you never played The Bouncer back in the day. The reveal trailer showed a bunch of bar brawls where everything was interactive and destroyable, chase scenes, seamless transitions from gameplay to cinematics, etc... The end game was NOTHING like that. It was just an extremely linear and bland beat em up where all you did was fight enemies in empty enclosed spaces.

[Khaotic]

Oh yeah because square enix has been so much better than ubi or any of the others lately. Chopped up hitman. Just cause was originally a pc multiplayer game only cause they thought consoles were dead. If your going to be a bandwagon hater, then hate on all of them cause they all screw crap up in there own way

[donwel]

To be fair though back in 2013 what we actually saw of it was likely 98% pre-rendered and 2% gameplay. It does look pretty good though, I might take the plunge once it's released. Been ages since I played an FF game.

[Eiyuuou]

If I'm not mistaken the devs said that you could do everything that they showed during the 2013 trailer except for character switching.

[ZaWarudo]

It finally doesn't look like a beta anymore.

That last trailer got me hyped.

[G20WLY]

Some of those effects - like when he's moving at super speed - reminded me of Infamous: Second Son...and that's no bad thing!

Game looks like a lot of fun and just moved up my list.

[indyman7777]

my goodness you just reminded me that I need to finish the add on game, to second son! Oh well back to THE LEGEND OF HERO's trails of cold steel.

[Summons75]

Can't wait for the LA event in March!

[Dan_scruggs]

Admittedly the game does look impressive but after 15 years it damn well better.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

15 years?

[Dan_scruggs]

Oops sorry it's 10 years. This game was announced in 2006.

[Coachkeys]

It was announced in 2006. Production started in 2012 when they decided to change the name to XV. So 4 to 5 years.

"In summer 2011 Square Enix got its first look at the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which threatened to make the PlayStation 3-exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII irrelevant before it was even finished. Sticking to the game's origins was no longer an option and the project had to change."

They even had to make a whole new engine for it.

[Eamon]

Final Fantasy Versus XIII devlopment on PS3 began in 2006. But that got cancelled and the project was transferred into Final Fantasy XV on PS4 - whose development began 2011/2012.

[UltraNova]

Doesn't anyone else find strange the fact that this game was supposed to be a ps3 exclusive then made multi platform while Sony didnt get anything in return(wasn't there a contract of some sort?) and to put salt to injury SE made a deal with MS for Tomb Raider...

What am I missing here?

[DragonKnight]

@UltraNova: SE's most recent exclusivity deals with Sony (Nier 2, FFVIIR amng others) are probably what Sony got as compensation, else money would have to be paid out to get out of the contract. Or, who knows, SE might turn on the douche and suddenly announce FFXV as a timed exclusive for PS4, or exclusive DLC.

[RedDevils]

Will this be available on PS5?

[MoveTheGlow]

That last Final Fantasy trailer is so MGS it may as well have "A Hideo Kojima Production" at the top of it. And I'm hyped.

[indyman7777]

oh I guess someone else DID see the same thing I saw! LOL

[RedDevils]

So that mean, it gonna be 90% cut scenes?

[MoveTheGlow]

What exactly would change if that were the case? hehe.

[Star51]

I'm so leery of this release date. Is this actually releasing this year?

[Summons75]

It's looking like it will be and I don't see why it shouldn't since KH3 and FF7 aren't on the radar at all. FF7 will most likely be next year and KH the year after.

[Coachkeys]

In a recent interview they stated that the game is playable from beginning to end. They're just fine-tuning it at this point.

[showtimefolks]

star

i think it's safe to assume a fall 2016 release date. they have an event in march 2016 if i am not wrong to announce the release date

[Elda]

I'm always ready to play a FF game except the mmo's,from the SNES days till now.Some have made a big impression after playing some have not though I've enjoyed playing majority of the games,can't wait to get my hands on FF-XV it's looking pretty good so far!

[WoshJills]

I like 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,and 12.
I don't like 1, 2, 11, 13, or 14.

Most have been good.

[Elda]

Never played 11 or 14 because they're mmo's didn't play 1 or 2 but I've played the rest didn't care for 13-2 or Lightning Returns.My favorites are 8,10 & 13.

[RedDevils]

Same here, and I hate 13 the most

[kraenk12]

Looks undoubtedly amazing!

[Kreisen]

For a while it certainly seemed like it would never see the light of day but im glad its back and looking better then ever.

[alti]

holy crap, it keeps looking better and better..

[DigitalRaptor]

Yes, yes it does.

I'll always respect Nomura for his VERSUS XIII vision that translated into XV, but I have tons of respect for Tabata for getting the game done, and at least keeping what looks like a ton of the soul of VERSUS.

I'll regret their removal of the ability to play as the other party characters, but I can accept that compromises were always going to be made, and the battle system still looks fun, accessible, and incredible. They did it. They actually did it!

[showtimefolks]

i never liked FF because of turn based combat gameplay but this one looks to be a day one buy. I hope FF7 remake also goes with FF15 style real time gameplay)(to attract new fans since old school FF7 fans will most likely get the game they already love)

[godofiron]

Good lord. Day. Motherfucking. One

[Germany7]

The game looks amazing but i'm not sure if it will please the hardcore Final Fantasy fans.

I'm trying to be optimistic, even after the fiasco of FF 13.

Probably it will get a lot of GOTY awards, because it's a fantasy action open-world game, lol.

[Eiyuuou]

Depends. I'm a hardcore fan, but I don't care much whether or not it's turn based or action. Though there are quite a few who do not share my view.

Day one for me.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

It always looked pretty damn good to me

[Ingram]

They keep downgrading the graphics and you guys won't even acknowledge it. Squeenix should not get a free pass, specially not with this game. At this pace we will have a game that looks like dirge of cerberus but in 2016. Seriously, remember the early versus "real time" videos? what about that one where they were escaping from the mansion and there was a huge Leviathan outside and noctis swimming on the kind of sea we won't be able to have until PS5? What about that dynamic battle with the behemoth and those cities brimming with life?

They have downgraded texture quality, animations, lighting and even polygon count each and every time. The game better be good and long, full of content and huge.

[kraenk12]

Why so bitter? Need a hug?!

The game looks amazing and you complain about the quality of a YouTube video?!

[Ingram]

No, keep your hugs for squeenix, I just need them to keep up with a fair percentage of their own promises at this point. A pretty particle system that isn't even dynamic wont make me change my mind. I'm not complaining about a "youtube video" are you blind or what? have you seen the "real time" videos they've been showing these years? Yeah, those were running on a high end PC. Everything has been downgraded.

[kraenk12]

@ingram

Of course their engine demonstration videos have been running on a high end PC! I don't get these downgrade complainers all the time.

I still say you are complaining on an incredibly high level!

[Taislin]

I mean, when the so called "donwgraded" version looks like it does, IMO the best looking open world game yet with global lighting, with physical based rendering, dynamic weather and night/day cyle, destructive/flamable/conductiv e properties for different materials, cloth and hair physics and some of the best animations in gaming to date and a huge scale and attention to detail to boot, it is a bit hard to acknowledge anything but a tremendous effort and merit on SE's part. Truly there has never been a game like this one before. The only thing you can really technically criticize is that consoles don't have enough power, which leads to some blurry textures and aliasing(in a build which is over two years old, mind you). Even in the latest report ( a build which is almost one year old...) they showed water current simulation physics which will be in the game. There might be a lot to complain about this game when it comes out, but it certainly isn't the tech behind it.

[Ingram]

You know? final fantasy 12 for example was atrocious regarding story, pacing, character development, ending and a lot of stuff, but its difficulty was pretty fine tuned and high, it was packed with the biggest bestiary ever, full of dialogue, a massive inventory and special monsters and quests.

If the side quests, inventory and bestiary are at least as extense as that game, I will be completely satisfied. The issue at hand is, having played Final Fantasy 13 I somehow doubt it. Do any of you guys remember that game? it's right there, it took a very long time too and it was truly horrible and empty on all levels. And that game had priority over this one. That was the game that received all of Squeenix resources. And they blew it.

[Adrian_v01]

Final Fantasy 13 has nothing to do with this game. Different engine, different team, different director. How you jump to conclusions that this will be crap cause ff13 was crap is out of logic.

Also, the bestiary of ff12 was rather lame. You had a few monster models which changed in color to be "new" monster types. How that bestiary satisfied you is also beyond logic to me.

[Ingram]

there was a % system where they would appear just sometimes, there was the fiend hunt, and then on top of that some monsters had unique badges, items, etc, an insane amount of HP, it's like the battle arena quests of final fantasy X but times 10. Seriously, look 'em up in the official guide.

[skratchy]

I don't remember the last time I was so excited for a Final Fantasy game. Maybe FFX? But, as fun as it was, it was the beginning of the downward slope for the series, for me. They became more about being pretty and flashy, and the voice overs were terrible :P

Nothing against FF at all. Been playing the series my whole life. I'm just glad to see what looks like a truly exciting, huge RPG.

[Eiyuuou]

Best voice acting ever.

http://images.akamai.steamu...

[Adrian_v01]

That scene was supposed to sound awkward and fake. Hence actually it was good voice acting.

[Eiyuuou]

@Adrian_v01

I know. I just like to joke with it. :p

Nevertheless, the voice acting in 10 wasn't really good.

[hkgamer]

FFXII had brilliant voice acting especially for that time. Was only let down by the compression.

XI XII and XIV ARR was brilliant.

[franwex]

It looks generic to me. I agree with the tone of the article.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Does generic even mean anything to anyone anymore. I swear people have used it for horizon, division, destiny, ff15, hell I heard people say that about last of us.

Generic doesn't mean 'it doesn't suit my tastes' in case you and everyone else didnt know that.

[franwex]

I'm sure most people know what generic means.

Also some of those games you mentioned ARE generic, but to not go overly in explanation what I mean in regards to ff15 is this: a warehouse level with stealth elements shoe horned in? That's been done countless times. Sneak around boxes, wait for the guard to turn around, press the action button. Rinse, repeat.

Overall the video makes the game less underwhelming than what has previously been shown. Instead of showing cool battles with spells against beasts in a vast fantasy world, it shows a warehouse with stupid AI that's been in every action game in the last 20 years. That's why it gives a generic impression.

[DragonKnight]

Here's an idea franwex, come up with a completely original, never been done before in any way shape or form, idea. I'll wait.

[Adrian_v01]

Shoehorned. Another word you don't seem to understand.

[franwex]

So after waiting for 10 years you guys are OK with a warehouse level sneaking around crates? An actual gameplay video that shows gameplay from the late 90s? Well, if that's what you guys like I guess there's nothing to worry about.

[rhap]

The first thing I was thinking is "damn, the game is probably dumbed down since you can't control the other characters and they can't be dying like shit all the time rendering your progress impossible" then I realized it's another FFXIII where the game plays for you.

When I saw Noctis controlling a gatling gun or something and shooting everything like a random shooter, I pressed the X button on the top right.

The game appeal less and less to me everytime they show a new video, specially when there are games like SO4, Legend of Heroes, Ys, Exist Archive, etc releasing all the time.

[bananaboats]

curious to see how deep the battle system is. saw a little tag team action. Wonder if all four guys can perform some sort of super move.

[phoenixwing]

In the report (where they talk about the game in a video and showed these clips) they talked about that exact thing. Apparently they have combo buttons and each character in your party has one. SO yeah you can make each character do his or her (hopefully it's not a sausage fest the whole time) thing.

Edit: They also talked about how magic will be more narrow and more along the lines of quality over quantity. And other things about magic.

[josephayal]

Combat feels slow and boring like witcher 3

[franwex]

Interesting, my opinion is the same in regards to the witcher 3s combat. Glad I'm not the only person who thinks that way.

[Number-Nine]

this reminds me too much of KH, right down to the music.

[Eiyuuou]

*Whistles*

Same composer... But you already knew that, didn't you? :p

[zugdar]

And I'm ok with that 100%. She does amazing work.

That being said the game was also designed by the KH team if I recall correctly?

[warriors_13]

this doesnt look anything like a final fantasy game. still not decided on buying it or not

will need to see more details first

[N8]

It looks like most of the old final fantasy players are the ones that dislike the new style. I understand that, if someone changed a game I liked I would be upset too.

[southnolan]

Oh the hype

[zugdar]

Its looks good and seems to play well.

My only concern is that is it too far from what FF is? Stealth, lock on targeting and other elements make this seem more like an action game with the numbers and stats flashing around. FF XII had a good balance of evolution and traditional play. I have not played the demo so I don't know if this is valid concern atm but looking at the gameplay that was the impression I had.

[Eiyuuou]

It's an ARPG, what do you expect of it? I get your point with the stealth, which isn't that common in RPG's, but lock on is like ARPG 101.

I wouldn't say it falls under the criteria of action game though.

(despite the fact that borders between genres start to fade nowadays..)

[DragonKnight]

Final Fantasy stopped being FF when the theme choices moved away from Fantasy. The last Fantasy FF game in the main series was FFXII and that was just barely and wedged between FFX which had small fantasy elements, and FFXIII which had none.

So I don't even think FF has a style anymore. It's so far removed from what Sakaguchi made that the only reason the name stays is for brand recognition sales and nostalgia.

[DigitalRaptor]

Watch the original VERSUS XIII trailers. https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Please remember that this is VERSUS at its core. And there was heaps of excitement for it back then, and it was known to be an action RPG with an exciting Kingdom Hearts-esque battle system. It was supposed to be the antithesis to what was FFXIII, as part of Fabula Nova Crystallis series. It was a spin-off that has been adapted into the main entry to give it more exposure and make more money for Square.