Hint: It's Gilgamesh.
Final Fantasy XV Latest News
Final Fantasy XV may feature several departures from many of the series' staples, but its first piece of DLC will include the return of a classic franchise villain.
VG24/7 got their hands on a book that Square Enix sent out to certain online personalities and discovered some details regarding the game's first DLC release, Episode Gladiolus. The biggest reveal included within the manual's pages is a brief note from producer Haruyoshi Sawatari in which he references a player encounter with "an enemy called Gilgamesh."
Gilgamesh has been a Final Fantasy regular ever since he appeared in Final Fantasy V. While he has served as a summon from time to time, he's usually been cast into the role of a villainous boss. It's not entirely clear if he will retain that boss status in FF XV, but a reference to the way in which this DLC will allow players to access new areas of the game does suggest that he will be incorporated into the main universe in some way.
Beyond that first DLC release, Final Fantasydirector Hajime Tabata is already forming some ambitious plans regarding where the game goes next. In a recent blog post, Tabata noted that the development team is planning to release free content updates alongside the previously planned six pieces of paid DLC.
While nothing is set it stone, Tabata notes that he would like to allow fans the chance to play as some fo the game's other characters as well as have the ability to create custom avatars. Additionally, he is considering the implementation of a New Game + mode as well as limited events that would allow players to complete special quests.
What we do know is that one of these free updates will include a reimagined take on the game's much-maligned 13th chapter. This late-game story moment has been criticized for technical and design flaws which some feel compromise the conclusion of the story.
Final Fantasy XV Review
Final Fantasy XVis out now for XBO and PS4. You can read our review of the game here. Here's an excerpt:
When FF XV’s story is at its best, it is barely telling a story at all. The moments when you are cruising the gorgeous open world, exploring ancient dungeons, identifying the history behind some far off monument, or simply bathing in the banter between the game’s main protagonist represent subtlety in video game storytelling at its very best.
There’s still a traditional narrative at the heart of Final Fantasy XV, but it clashes horribly with the open-world aspects. Without diving into spoilers, FFXV’s main narrative arc deals with kingdoms at war, summoners, demons, and many of the other elements we’ve come to associate with the franchise. The story doesn’t rank among the franchise’s best.
The big problem is that the story often forces the game to come to a complete stop. In comparison to a game like The Witcher 3, which tells its story while you are exploring the game’s world, FFXV often splits its exploration and storytelling into two different styles of gameplay. While some of those storytelling moments are undeniably cinematically impressive (especially later in the game), they often turn the game into an incredibly linear experience that falls short of games like the Uncharted franchise, which are built around such a cinematic style.
Final Fantasy XV Trailer
To mark the release of this highly anticipated JRPG, Square Enix has dropped their best trailer for the game. Check it out below:
Square Enix has released an hour of Final Fantasy XV gameplay footage. It's new footage that had not been made public until now, so beware: there are spoilers in the video. Check it out below:
Square Enix had a big presence at E3 2016 with Final Fantasy XV presentations for both the Microsoft and Sony conferences. First, check out some gameplay from the Microsoft presser:
At the Sony conference, the Final Fantasy XV VR experience was revealed. You'll be able to play as Prompto. Check out the trailer below:
Here's another trailer featuring many of the cities, monsters, and new characters you'll meet during your adventure:
Well, that looks absolutely wonderful. Both fantasy and sci-fi elements populate this world, from the giant that cues Florence and the Machine's cover of "Stand By Me" to the cool-looking mechs. There seems to be a lot to see and do in the new game. We definitely enjoyed the first demo, Episode Duscae.
Which brings me to the Platinum Demo, a second demo for Final Fantasy XV that you can download right now on the PSN and Xbox Live. The demo is completely standalone from the main story and won't spoil anything in the game.
There's a trailer for that, too:
In the free demo, you'll play as young Noctis, who seems to be having a bit of a nightmare that involves being shrunken down to the size of an action figure...? But you'll also get to play as sword-wielding grown-up Noctis, too, by the looks of it.
Oh, but there's so much more Final Fantasy XV! A new five-part anime series has been announced. It's called Brotherhood: Final Fantasy, and it will run up to the release of the game in September. You can watch the first episode here:
Finally, because yes, there's just a little bit more, a new CGI movie tie-in is also coming. It's called Kingsglaive and it features the voices of Luna Freya, Lena Hedey, Sean Bean and Aaron Paul. Here's a trailer for that:
Looks pretty. No release date on that yet, although it will be out this year.
In 2015, the first Final Fantasy XV demo was released. It's called Episode Duscae, and if you didn't get a chance to play it, you can check out a glimpse of it below:
In an earlier trailer, we met the new Cid, who isn't actually a Cid at all, but a CIDNEY. Now that's a play on the character that we haven't seen before. Over the years, Cid has appeared in every installment in the series since Final Fantasy II. He's played many different roles, whether a member of your party or a pilot or a mechanic. Cid's always there!
Check out the trailer:
It's been a couple of years since we started hearing about the mysterious Final Fantasy XV, the next major installment in the classic fantasy RPG series. We received a couple of teasers and then nothing. But 2014 marked the return of the FFXVmarketing machine with some new trailers that showed off all of the beautiful next-gen fantasy goodness.
What was missing from all of these trailers was English. All of the trailers so far have been in Japanese with subtitles. No longer. We've got some English Final Fantasy XVfor ya:
The game was originally unveiled at E3 2013, where the game's original title, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, was changed to Final Fantasy XV, turning the title into a main installment in the series. Check out the announcement trailer:
Final Fantasy XV Box Art
Square Enix has revealed the North American box art for Final Fantasy XV. Check it out below:
Final Fantasy XV Details
Final Fantasy XV will receive an online co-op mode as part of a future DLC release.
The mode is called Comrades and will allow four players to experience the game at the same time. Not much is known about this co-op feature at this time (including whether or not it will feature a separate story or take place during the campaign), but we do know that it will be the final piece of DLC released for Final Fantasy XV. That means that a Holiday Pack, an item pack, and three expansions released episode style will precede this release.
We hope to have more information regarding this exciting addition available for you soon.
Square Enix hit the stage at TGS 2016 to debut a new trailer for Final Fantasy XV, the company's upcoming JRPG epic. You can see the cinematic wonder below:
During a PAX interview with IGN, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata stated that the game will begin as an open-world game, but become more linear in the second half in order to better tell the final portions of the story.
According to Tabata, this change in focus won't come until "very close" to the end of the game, but that a certain story point involving a train will mark the game's shift in content direction:
"Once the train sequence starts, the whole structure of the game changes drastically," says Tabata. "That said, you will be able to go back to that open world environment through the menu, so you will still be able to experience the adventure that awaits you over there, which amounts to over 200 hours of gameplay."
Exactly how long this more linear portion of the game is going to be remains unknown. This is a fairly notable departure from some Final Fantasy games of the past, which begin as linear story experiences and open themselves up as the player progresses, but it is one that some recent Final Fantasy titles and other RPGs have utilized to great effect.
Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata revealed during Square Enix's E3 live stream (via IGN) that the game's campaign will take up to 40-50 hours to complete.
"In terms of clearing the main story, we're anticipating about 40-50 hours of gameplay," said Tabata. "At the very least there will be 40 hours of content to enjoy. But there are a lot of side quests and other extra things. With just the extra stuff alone, we're looking at maybe 100 hours of gameplay. So if you count all of that, maybe we're looking at around 200 hours of gameplay."
"A lot of fans have been waiting quite a while for this game, so we wanted to make sure there's a lot of content for them to enjoy," said Tabata.
More on Final Fantasy XV as we learn it!