Final Fantasy XV

By ninetylives - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - No Comments

Hello there Final Fantasy lovers!

Are you excited for FFXV? While there is no actual news on the release date of the game yet, there was recently an update for the demo, Episode Duscae, which allows you to fight a new boss. Also, most images I've uploaded is in HD, so open the images up to full view! Best thing on earth.

new boss!

If memory serves me right, FFXV is on the PS4 and the Xbox One, and seeing as I don't own either, I decided my best course of action was to watch the gameplay online.

It. Is. Amazing.

I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a very dedicated gamer, so to me the graphics are pretty darn good. However, there are many debates about the quality, seeing as the game as been in production for more than a decade, and with still no news to the final release date.

Besides, I'm actually more interested in plots and storylines than anything else. So, what is FFXV about anyway? Here's more about the setting and plot:

"Final Fantasy XV is set in a world similar to modern-day Earth. The known land is divided between multiple nations, including Lucis, Tenebrae, Niflheim, Solheim and Accordo. Every nation except for Niflheim once held a crystal, giving them substantial political power, but wars conducted between them resulted in all but the Lucis crystal being lost. Under the protection of the crystal, Lucis develops into a modern, technologically advanced society, while all the other nations have regressed to medieval-like societies due to focusing on weapon development. The nation of Niflheim becomes Lucis' main enemy, waging war against it and other nations. In the world of XV, people who have suffered a near-death experience are gifted with magical powers from the Unseen Realm, the realm of the dead ruled by the Goddess Etro. These powers include being able to foresee people's deaths. This power has both positive and negative effects on those who wield it.

Final Fantasy XV begins as a truce is declared between Lucis and Niflheim, ending the cold war which has raged over possession of the world's last crystal. On the day when the official treaty is to be signed, however, Niflheim invades Lucis and takes the nation's crystal for its own before launching attacks on Solheim, Tenebrae and Accordo. Noctis and his friends now journey to retrieve their kingdom's crystal and defeat Niflheim's forces."

Sounds promising? I sure hope so. It definitely sure does sound like an FF plot. Crystals and all that jazz.

jaysus

This time it seems as though the team is entirely male, which doesn't matter much to me, and it doesn't hurt that FF characters have always been ridiculously good looking. Super eyecandy material, yeah? Instead of controlling multiple characters though, you can only play the lead, Noctis. I have to admit, when I first saw Noctis, my initial thought was "Sasuke????"

YES, YES!!!

Anyway, let me go through a brief intro on the "main" characters, then I'll move on to the gameplay.

FFXV is a team of four, and the only playable character is Noctis, as mentioned previously. The other three members are Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto.

Noctis Lucis Caelum

Noctis is the Crown Prince and heir to the kingdom of Lucis, the last kingdom that has control over Crystals. Due to a (near-death) accident in his early ages, Noctis can see the "light", and is also able to foresee a person's death.

Gladiolus Amicitia

Gladious is the heir to a noble family that has guarded the royal family for generations, technically acting as a shield for the family. He has known Noctis since childhood and considers him a brother.

Ignis Stupeo Scientia

Ignis is a prodigy military tactician, as well as a close childhood friend of Noctis. He also acts as the group's driver (unless you want to manually drive as Noctis) and the chef when you set up camp.

Prompto Argentum

Childhood friend of Noctis from his schooldays, and wields firearms despite the ban in Lucis. (There's not much on him, but he does resemble a skinnier and a more open version of Cloud, doesn't he?)

Bonus Guest: Cor Leonis

A guest companion that will join the party on occasion, acting as a guardian. Cor is one of the three best fighters in Lucis, and is also known as the Immortal Shogun. He's not one of Noctis' close friends, but rather with his father.

That's it for the characters! Of course there's more, but knowing SE, if I were to go through all the characters that contribute to the storyline, there will be no end to this post. Up next, the gameplay! I'll just drop the video at the end so you can watch it for yourself!

In my opinion, the gameplay is so so so smooth. Movement wise, you can move in any direction you like. Gone are the days where you run in a grid or at best diagonally. Everything is in HD, which is an eyegasm for me, because I absolutely adore FF's art. I would say everything is pretty tied together, meaning that conversations happen naturally when you reach a certain point, and there is no sudden cut and loading screen for the conversations.

Same goes for the battle scenes. It used to be when you initiate a battle, there would be a screen change to the battle scene, and to escape you have to just keep running backwards, right? For FFXV, there is just an indication that the battle has started when you run into range, and then to escape, you simply run far away enough for the enemy to not be able to chase you.

I would say FFXV's battles are super realistic. You get to dodge, roll, move around to smash the enemy's face instead of the side, etc. Seamless.

Although this feature is hella rad, I personally prefer the battles where it loads to another screen. Actually I just really like the turn based battles, because I'm not skilled enough to handle too many instructions and buttons.

Also another really cool feature that I really like is the fact that Noctis is not limited to only one weapon. He uses a multitude of weapons, swords, greatswords, spears, etc, though his primary weapon is a Falchion (with a motorcycle engine at the hilt), which I guess is normally used by royalty? Considering the fact that when playing Fire Emblem, the Falchion could only be wielded by Ephraim.

Plus! He summons these weapons (which just appear around him, how cool) and then either wields them by hand or telekinesis. Only members of the royal family + royal council can use these powers, and Noctis' eyes turn from blue to red when he invokes them.

Noctis is the only character that can cast magic, but for the gameplay the supporting members are able to cast them as well. Remember how I said you can dodge and roll? Another awesome feature is the fact that Noctis is able to throw his weapons, and then teleport to where it has landed. This can also be used to dodge, or as an attack. If you use it as a dodge, you can literally hang on the side of a cliff or something, and wait till for a good opportunity to strike.