- Final Fantasy XV's director has been changed, now the game is in Tabata's hands. Nomura will work only on KHIII
- The trailer's not extended, but the scenes showed confirm it's about the upcoming demo
- Tabata (I suppose): "There are great expectations for this game, and we're not forgetting this saga's roots while creating new elements (see the final part of the trailer)"
- The combat system starts as "action" a-la-KH, lots of things changed since then but the action nature is still there. Not a classic JRPG, for sure
- Episode Ducsae is confirmed for March 2015, included in Type 0 HD
- Ducsae is a region in FFXV's world
- The demo will be about a period not too far from beginning of the game, but no spoilers, don't worry, Tabata reassures. It's all to let the player comprehend the new combat system
- The demo's length is far bigger than normal, with 3-4 hours and possibily of playing exploartion and dungeon phases
- No classic Final Boss in the demo, but the final impression will be incredible for FF fans
- There will be many exploration phases, the player can freely drive the car or let the CPU drive it through Auto Drive, so he can see see secret zones
- Tabata: "The combat system's modifications have been applied correctly, and the development team feels the game much more like a "Final Fantasy" since it became a main title
- ...but this doesn't mean the end of the action nature! The combat system's basis will stay that, but it won't be confusionary. We want the player to control fully what happens
- There will be many new elements, and most I can't talk about. But I can tell you Noctis can dodge enemies by keeping pressing the "Block" button; there will be also Auto-Attack and the Warp button
- Every character/ally will fight with his/her own style; by knowing how Noctis can perform different combos with them the player will be encouraged to search for them on the combat field in order to make a turning point in the battle. In specific moments, only a specific ally can be used against specific enemies, and the command will be visible only near the enemies. This is what makes our work on FFXV magic. We're very satisfied"
- Tabata praises next gen's power, by underlining the beauty of the real-time day/night cycle
- Tabata: "Open world? Yes, FFXV will have a massive world to explore, all thanks to next gen consoles
- The demo is 70-80% complete. March's version will be better.
- We've worked hard on how each character is characterised. Everyone's going to have his own character (laughs...). You'll love them all.
- Prompto is the typical exuberant boy full of vitality, while Noctis the one who "knows", he's not the once-reserved-lonely boy anymore
- Aesthetically, Ignis has been changed too
- SE would like to expand the FFXV's universe on PSVita and mobile phones, i.e. it would be great to connect outside of the TV screen
- The story retrace the Fabula Nova Crystallis' myth from FFXIII and Type 0, in a different world. The plot is simple: the boys have to get back a crystal stolen by an enemy country
- During the interview, some names were mentioned, like King Aegis, Emperor Aldercapt, Luna, the city of Altissia...any news on the matter? Tabata: "No comment".
- Not even Luna? Tabata's answer: "The others are no comment, while Luna is...tabula rasa" (laughs...), then "I'd love telling you more, but right now I can't, still she'll be a key character liek Notcis!"
- New details on plot and characters in future events, Jump Festa 2015 especially.
Is Luna supposed to be Stella's new name or a new character all together?
Nothing will change my mind from me thinking they just don't want to be bothered animating the hair and the clothes for a female party member with their amazing technology.
No wonder they're all dressed in black with red soles and a bunch of hot topic garments.
I wish they'd get different outfits for the cast. I realize they are designed by a real fashion company but they don't look real the way that Square wants it to be at all.
So according to a 4Gamer interview with Tabata (translated by Neogaf), Noctis is the only playable character, and those in your party are a.i. driven?
Pfft. BYE.
It isn't specified if this applies only to next year's demo, or the full-game itself. Hopefully it's just the former. Because while I would get used to it like I did with KH, I am NOT here for having only one playable cast member.
So according to a 4Gamer interview with Tabata (translated by Neogaf), Noctis is the only playable character, and those in your party are a.i. driven?
Pfft. BYE.
It isn't specified if this applies only to next year's demo, or the full-game itself. Hopefully it's just the former. Because while I would get used to it like I did with KH, I am NOT here for having only one playable cast member.
I think they said this was just for the demo and that you can control all of them during the full game.
Also - the trailer from E3 last year was a target render. i.e. none of it exists in that full form and was just something to show off. This demo, however, is the real deal. Graphics look bettah anyways so haters gonna hate.
Q: So after all, the E3 2013 trailer was a lie? You can’t actually play like that?
A：You can fight like that. I think in the recent play demonstration we showed several techniques and functions, but at E3 last year the game was running on a prototype environment (Ebony). At TGS 2014 we showed the game running in the actual environment (Luminous). Right now we are in the process of migrating functions from the prototype into it. It will take time to migrate it all. I wanted to show footage in the actual environment as soon as possible, so I ended up showing something that is in the midst of migrating. The video shows actual footage, not an idealized version. It will become more and more advanced from here on out.
Q: Can you go into detail about the “holding down the button” issue? Is it really okay to just hold the button down?
A：It’s not that simple! (Laughs.) Yes, when you continue to hold down the guard button, you can basically auto-guard and evade, but it consumes MP. You can’t infinitely evade. You have to think about timing, when it’s a good idea to attack or evade. Also, you aren’t invincible. There are attacks you can’t avoid. In those cases, there are also essential technical evasion methods.
Q: What about attacks?
A：When you push the attack button, you invoke the standard combo. You can change the actions by using it in coordination with the directional buttons. The actions change depending on your circumstances—things like whether you’re guarding and whether the timing is right, (imagine in this circumstance: when you’re guarding, you might get a chance to counterattack or something), or if your companions are nearby.
Q: Can you change the operational character?
A：Not in its current specifications. Everyone on the development team thoroughly looked into an Active Cross Battle system that made free use of attack, guard, and co-op functions, but as a result they arrived at the conclusion that changing characters would be too difficult. In order to create a new and interesting battle system, we ended up not being able to put in the character switching.
Q: Is jumping in?
A: It is. Considering PlayStation 4 has plenty of buttons, there is an independent jump button.
Q: What about free running?
A: It’s there. Except for the character switching, everything that was in the E3 2013 trailer is still there. All the cool actions like the weapons barrier that surrounds Noctis called “Phantom Sword,” and the short warps and jumping from the Behemoth battle are in the actual game. We’ll release more information later on, so please look forward to it.
Q: What about weapon selection?
A: You set them yourself before battle. You set each weapon considering what actions you can use with which weapons. You can only determine one weapon from the ones equipped to be your main one, but that weapon will come with techniques which can be invoked at your discretion in battle. Besides the basic assault button (attack), you can invoke techniques with the technique button.
Q: I can’t tell if it’s more like Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy Type-0. Which is it?
A: We explained that when you push the attack button, you invoke the standard combo, which is similar to Type-0. Considering the battle system as a whole, however, it is different from both Type-0 and Kingdom Hearts.
Q: Is it being simplified for casual users? Is is still an action RPG?
A: In order to widen its appeal, we’re developing the game aware that anyone can immediately be able to play it, however the game as a whole is not casual. Because it’s a core game, we have casual controls. If you obtain good weapons and level up, you won’t have to worry about clearing the main scenarios.
Q: Will you listen to feedback from the demo version?
A: We want to reference your feedback during development, but how we’re going to do that is still under review.
Q: Haven’t you been poor at putting out information?
A: If our fans are uneasy about the information we have released, then our ways of issuing information may in fact be poor. Even though we didn’t have a lot of time, I wanted to make clear the current situation. In the future, our information releases might be poor, but I think we can receive your approval.
Additional details were shared on cooperative chains, parrying, and other general information.
“There are systems we want to tell you more about.”
Final Fantasy XV’s Coperative Chains & Growth
“The co-op moves aren’t one-offs, you can do them continuously.”
“Invoking co-op moves is automatic, but it’s necessary for the player to aim their mark.”
Turning to the Side = The Concept of Parrying
“To connect a co-op move while avoiding an enemy attack, you have to keep an eye out for an indication when to invoke it.”
“You can’t auto-parry.”
“It feels accomplishing to pull of a co-op attack from a parry.”
More details to come later.
General
“Even though there are parts from Versus that we have ended up changing, we’ve developed them in more interesting ways, I want you to look forward to it.”
“I get reports everyday from development staff about what was said on the internet. If we have material, I’d like to release development information again in a live broadcast like this on November 1.”
“Next month they’ll release information from other development members.”
“Development progress is at 55%. Final Fantasy XV has entered the phase where they are mass producing resource material. After that, it’s a fight against the amount of resource material and time. We are also hiring people to help make Final Fantasy XV, so interested applicants should check out the homepage.
Nomura has said this forever.
Long Interview