Final Fantasy XV - Everything we know so far -

Previously known as FINAL FANTASY Versus XIII, the title’s development expanded and evolved to take full advantage of the capabilities of next generation platforms. While the main concept, world and story continue to be developed as originally envisioned, the First Production Development Team has further improved FINAL FANTASY XV’s action, gameplay elements and graphic quality to match the technology of the next generation hardware, as well as the expectations of players eagerly awaiting the game’s release.

Final Fantasy XV is in development for PS4 and Xbox One.


General Information

Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Action Role Playing Game
Platform: Sony PlayStation 4 & Microsoft XBox One

Official Japanese Website: http://jp.square-enix.com/ff15/
Official N. American Website: http://na.square-enix.com/FFXV/
Official European Website: http://eu.square-enix.com/FFXV/

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/finalfantasy15jp
Twitter - http://twitter.com/1stPD_PR

Release Date
JP: TBA
NA: TBA
EU: TBA


Trailers:

Announcement Trailer -
Youtube Version
High Quality Version for Download

Gameplay Trailer -
Youtube Version
High Quality Version for Download


Prologue:

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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
-William Shakespeare

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“The true figure is still hidden in the sleep.”

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“An isolated nation protected by an ancient line of Kings. A modern civilization alive with crystal's songs of swords and sorcery.”

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“A lone Kingdom fighting to forestall the outer world from imposing its heretic order. The struggle for the final crystal is merely a prologue to the chronicles of new era.”

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“This is a fantasy based on reality.”

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“A meeting predestined by the divine.”

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“Eyes that see the light of expiring souls.”

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“A act of love by the last king.”

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“The figure that still lies asleep in the fantasy.”

Story:

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.




The Setting:

The setting for Final Fantasy XV reflects our world today, and its "ugly issues". Final Fantasy XV is a darker and more close to home emotional story, or so that is the vision Square-Enix has said.

It’s a dark and sad story which aims to show how heavy and painful the burden that the heroes are carrying is, how painful their paths can be, and how important flashes of happiness are in a world ravaged by greed and despair. The keyword for Final Fantasy XV story is ‘misery’, and it can be applied to all main characters.

With life-like characters and a truly painful story, the main theme the team wants to showcase is “Bonds” and how the characters relate to it.

Even though the story will be quite serious, there will be elements of humor as well.








Cast:

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 defense of those loyal to him.

Noctis' weapons are quite unique, and should make for quite a large part of the game play variations in the game, as he has many, many weapons at his fingertips. He doesn't carry or sheath his swords or holster his guns, they're simply with him. He seemingly wills them into materialization in an instant, dozens of them, rapidly. The amount of weapon switching seen is simply mind-boggling.

His Japanese voice actor is Tatsuhisa Suzuki.




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.

Gladiolus fights with his bare hands and can use larger and heavier weapons like pile bunkers and great swords.

His Japanese voice actor is Kenta Miyake.




Ignis Stupeo 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.

Ignis specializes in support-style attacks. He is a strong magic user and can throw knives. He wields a katana blade.

His Japanese voice actor is Mamoru Miyano.




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.

Prompto is a gunner. With this character, the player will be able to display a targeting reticule, which will allow you to aim for weak points on an enemy. Noctis can use guns but only has an auto aim function. His aiming is useful for large monsters that have weak points in various areas and can be targeted for positional damage.

His japanese voice actor is Tetsuya Kakihara.




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 honor binds him to keep watch over the group all the same.

Cor uses Katanas in battle, and is 42 years old. He is the last to join Noctis's entourage comprising of Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto.

His Japanese voice actor is Hiroki Touchi.






Regis Lucis Caelum

Regis is the King of Lucis Kingdom, and Noctis's father. He plans to go down in history as the last King.





Stella Nox Fleuret

Stella has been described as an unfortunate enemy of Noctis, as in, the two likely don't want to fight one another, but they must simply due to their allegiances. Stella hails from the Fleuret family from the Kingdom of Tenebrae.

Stella has the ability to see the “Light” just like Noct. She speaks openly about it without any restraints and feels intrigued by it.

Stella uses the Rapier as her weapon.




Idola Eldercapt (Name unconfirmed)

Enemy of Lucis and the leader of Niflheim. (This character's name has not been officially announced. See here for speculation.)





Unnamed Character 1

Hostile to the kingdom of Lucis, not much is know about this character. He was seen in the E3 2013 trailer talking to the Niflheim leader, Idola.

His Japanese voice actor is Keiji Fujiwara, and thus, was given red hair, since Keiji Fujiwara has previously voiced other famous red haired characters like Axel (Kingdom Hearts) and Reno (Final Fantasy VII)




Unnamed Character 2

No information available.





Unnamed Character 3

No information available.




Unnamed Character 4

Fights for Lucis Kingdom, and can be seen in the trailer standing behind King Regis Caelum.






Unnamed Character 5

No information available.




Unnamed Character 6

No confirmed information available.
His Japanese voice actor has not been announced, but the voice sounds like Yuichi Nakamura.






Locations:

The four great nations that originally received protection from the crystals are Lucis, Tenebrae, Solheim and Accordo – and together with Niflheim and several other cities and towns – make up the vast world of FFXV. Forests and desert wastelands are also in the game, as well as shops where you can buy things.

Lucis:
The Kingdom of Lucis is ruled by Regis Lucis Caelum. A nation said to keep the last known existing crystal in the world, it is described as a nation both highly advanced and developed, and culturally intact, with tradition vibrant and still alive with the "songs of swords and sorcery". The city is a sprawling metropolis, inspired by modern-day cities like Tokyo and New York, and as such, is populated by skyscrapers and highways.

Lucis, "of the light" or "belonging to the light", is the genitive form of the Latin Lux, "Light".












Tenebrae:
Tenebrae is the home nation of Stella. It is one of the nations that was entrusted with the power of the Crystal. Little else is known about it at this time, though there is a legend in Tenebrae which states that those who can see the "light" will obtain special powers.
"Tenebrae" is Latin for "darkness" or "shadows".


Niflheim:
Led by Idola Eldercapt, Niflheim is an opposing kingdom in this game. It is shown to have invaded Lucis during the peace treaty signing party (dated 2592/09/15 [yyyy/mm/dd]), which would have settled the dispute over the last crystal. They have also waged war on Accordo, Solheim and Tenebrae.
Niflheim is designed with an asymmetric aesthetic. Their clothes, while mostly white, are different on each side.


Solheim:
Solheim is one of the 4 nations blessed by the power of the Crystal. However, their crystal gets stolen by Niflheim. No other information is available currently.


Accordo:
A beautiful and picturesque nation, that is modelled after Venice, comes under attack by Niflheim forces. The latest trailer shows Leviathan demolishing the city, while Noctis is seen jumping from roof to roof trying to battle these forces.














Gameplay Systems:

Interactive World

Final Fantasy XV will have a variety of "gimmicks". By "gimmicks" Nomura means things such as the overhead walkway gets destroyed by the Behemoth as Noctis crosses it. If Noctis never crosses the walkway, the Behemoth will not destroy it. Creating these types of gimmicks are tough on the development side of things.



The city scene where Noctis is fighting the Behemoth is full of destroyable objects such as trees and electricity poles for example.


Event Scenes

There will be event scenes that the player can control. In the recent trailer, we see a forest in the evening showing a low view point of Noctis running up to Regis Lucis Caelum. The viewpoint is low because it's a flash back from Noctis' youth. This is just one example of an event scene that the player can control.




World Map

Regarding the fields, it's not a completely open world. It's like the 2D FF games but in 3D. Players will find a big world map with vast fields where they will be able to explore as far as the eye can reach except the mountains. Terrain diversity is much more detailed and vast than in Final Fantasy XIII. Nomura says that the game will probably have more natural landscapes than Final Fantasy XIII does.








Vehicles:

It’s possible to fly airships over the world just like in older Final Fantasy titles. You'll be able to drive a car, ride mechs, tanks and Chocobos as well.







Day and Night Cycles

The day and night cycles and cloud formations are done by physical calculation. It was decided to be made this way to have a smooth change between the cycles and to have a much more dynamic lighting system, which reflects the mood of a certain region/place.

With addition to the day and night cycle, players will find different beasts at different times of day.








Enemy Job Classes:

The game will have a job system but not for the characters that the player will control. Enemies will come in classes such as dragon knights and summoners.

Female Dragon Knight:

The Dragon Knight character is part of a special group of people within the enemy army and uses unconventional armor that differs from the army's standard issue.




Monsters:

Enemies will vary in sizes depending on the location. In the city, the Behemoth was large because of all the tall buildings. If it were small, there wouldn't be much of an impact.
The monsters wander throughout the field and sometimes-hostile ones will suddenly appear to ambush you.


Behemoth:



Iron Giant:



(Super) Iron Giant:



Leviathan (Summon):




Others:












Summons:

Summon beasts are in the game and to obtain them they have to be defeated like in older Final Fantasies. Summons will have a ranking system, and the highest ranked summons will be larger in size.

In the Leviathan battle, the monster will create typhoons during battle and the player will have to jump through destroyed buildings one by one in order to fight. too. Leviathan is a top-ranked summon and is therefore quite large in size.

Other boss battles will feature grand situations as well.




Noctis's Red Eyes:

Nomura stated that Noctis's eyes and hair change with his emotions as well as different actions in battle.





Battle System:

• The party consists of three members.
• Noctis has to be in the party. If Noctis dies, it's game over.
• Other characters can be controlled, and can be swapped seamlessly in battle.
• Damage and HP will be displayed on screen just like in the older Final Fantasies.
• Noctis can use Attack, Magic, Linkform, Warp, [Summons?] and Item commands.
• Warp is a Noct-only ability. We saw examples of its "short" version in the latest trailer, but expect some footage of a "long" warp;

For a more detailed look on gameplay, please refer to this thread.


News, Interviews and Updates:

News and interviews post E3 2013.

11th June - Tetsuya Nomura’s livestream interview at E3 2013
12th June - Future of Final Fantasy Event Report
12th June - Main characters and Japanese voice cast revealed
12th June - Nomura details Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III in Famitsu
13th June - Edge Interview with Nomura: Why Square turned Versus XIII into FFXV.
13th June - IGN interview with Nomura: FFXV was almost a musical.
13th June - Famitsu: FFXV first part in a larger epic
13th June - NBC: Nomura discusess art, modern setting and crazy hair.
14th June - Dengeki interview with Nomura
19th June - Famitsu: Tabata co-directing.
19th June - Famitsu: Nomura discusses next generation transition.
20th June - Famitsu: Expanded Character descriptions.
20th June - Edge: Nomura on FFXV and KH3.
24th June - SE NA: FFXV artwork, character and story synopsis.
24th June - Dengeki: Story, Summons, World Map etc. - Translated by NovaCrystallis
26th June - Famitsu: Story unchanged, Cor's age + more. - Translated by NovaCrystallis
26th June - Famitsu & Dengeki: Niflheim asymmetrical aesthetic, etc.
27th June - Famitsu & Dengeki: Info Roundup
28th June - Famitsu & Dengeki: FFXV and KH3 similarities


Main Developers:

Director, Base Story, Concept Game Design, and Character Designer: Tetsuya Nomura
Co-Director: Hajime Tabata
Producers: Shinji Hashimoto & Yoshinori Kitase
Image Artwork: Yoshitaka Amano
Mechanic Concept: Takayuki Takeya
Clothes Design: Hiromu Takahara
Scenario Writer: Kazushige Nojima
Composer: Yoko Shimomura
Main Programmers: Hiroshi Harata & Kentaro Yasui
Planning Directors: Yuichi Kanemori & Takayoshi Nakazato
Planning Director (World): Takeshi Endou
Event Planning Director: Jun Akiyama
Graphic Director (Character Model): Tomohiro Kayano
Graphic Director (Animation): Tatsuya Kandou
Graphic Director (Map model): Masahide Tanaka
Graphic Director (Visual Effects): Shuichi Sato
Graphic Director (System Menu): Takeshi Arakawa
Art Director (Character): Tomohiro Hasegawa
Art Director (Map): Takayuki Ohtachi,
Lead Visual Director: Takeshi Nozue
Character Artist: Roberto Ferrari

Credits:
Info compiled from NeoGAF, FXN and news/interviews.

The battle system is more like Kingdom Hearts games rather than Final Fantasy games. It is a seamless system with monsters appearing on the field and can be fought on the same field without any transitions.

Each character specialises in something, like Prompto is a gun specialist and can target enemy weak points, while Gladiolus is adept at using heavy swords. Noctis is an all rounder with weapons. His warp ability is exclusive to him.
We do not know much about their stat distribution currently.

I've linked the trailers at the start, so give them a watch to get more understanding of the battle system.

Thank you so much Rain, all this research must have taken you a long time.

Maybe a 10 minute walkthrough perhaps.

So this will be the first Final Fantasy console game i will have played haha. It looks amazing, but im wondering if the gameplay will match up to the beauty of it all. Which i must say feels the like problem with

Gah, no offense to you because my scroll bar only moves when I actually want to type. I know that's all exciting stuff from what I saw, I need to view this again on a faster laptop!!

Hmm getting the feeling there's less pre-teen angst in the main characters good at least that it takes a back seat.
Kind of a metal gear vibe?? Initial thoughts: Kind of re-inspiring me to get off my butt and work to save up for a One!! Forget ESO, this can be my main RPG fantasy wise.

Sweeeet as, a mecha I see. Hmm, summons, nice, nice. Only question - can I up the rank of summons I have already obtained?That would make it awesome!!

quote SpartanNinja

Thanks Rain, I wonder what mini games there will be? Theres always something in FF.

I don't the playing the card games again, but I wonder if Nomura thought about it. I hope he doesn't forget to put mini-games.

Apparently, Square has finally released a release month for FFXV. I'm not going to believe it yet but I've read that it's supposed to be coming out around June 2015. Don't take my word for it or the Internet's yet. But I'm hoping it's true because that's still pretty far away.