Final Fantasy, like many other beloved and long-running series, has developed a strong and dedicated following. At this rate, with 15 titles and years of development and reliable results, it’s terrifying to think of the day when there will never be another Final Fantasy game. It’s kind of like the day I found out Silent Hill was officially cancelled. It’s heartbreaking. But, put those feelings aside, because the end of the Final Fantasy series is not here. Instead, we’ve done our research and this is what we know so far about the newest addition to the Final Fantasy lineup, Final Fantasy 15.
Release Date
It was recently announced that Final Fantasy 15 would be releasing sometime this year, but an official release date still hasn’t been announced. Hopefully, more details will come out around the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which happens in June. The Verge mentioned that the official release date is supposed to be announced at a special event on March 30, so we’ve got a few more days before we find out for sure.
What Is Final Fantasy 15 About
This time, the story follows Prince Noctis, who rules over The Kingdom of Lucis and has been matched with Princess Luna for marriage. On the day of their wedding, The Empire of Niflheim pops in for an unexpected invasion to nab the last-known crystal that will give them ultimate power. It is, of course, up to Noctis and his trusty sidekicks to battle their way to retrieve the crystal back from the hands of the Niflheim in order to save the kingdom.
Trailer
The most recent trailer for Final Fantasy 15 is titled “Dawn 2.0.” The trailer focuses on the backstories of Lunafreya and Noctis. The game will, of course, center around those two characters, but Noctis will be the main protagonist. In the trailer, you can see Noctis as a little boy and Lunafreya as a younger woman. The trailer was released last September, and we haven’t heard much since. Because this year is supposed to be the year it finally releases, hopefully there will be some news at this year’s E3 in June.
Noctis
Noctis is the main protagonist of the story and prince of The Kingdom of Lucis. Most of his good friends refer to him as “Noct.” Lucis is the last kingdom that had possession of a crystal, before Niflheim came barging in. When Noctis was younger, he had an accident which now allows him to predict a person’s death. Noctis grew up with Lunafreya, Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis and they are all included as party members, except Lunafreya, who is a guest party member. While she isn’t directly playable as far as we know, you will have the ability to go into battle with her and she’ll be more involved than the other guest party member, Cor Leonis. Noctis is generally a shy character and tries to play everything off by being cool, but he won’t be all brooding and gloomy. It’ll be a different kind of player personality in the Final Fantasy games.
Lunafreya
Lunafreya, or Luna, is the updated heroine of the story. In older Final Fantasy 15 trailers, Stella could be seen, but she had to be removed and replaced with Luna due to story conflicts. While she’s not part of Noctis’ group in-game, she does play a prominent role in the game. Lunafreya and Noctis grew up together and created many cherished memories, that was, until the Empire took over her home, Tenebrae. Players will actually get to join Lunafreya in battle, unlike Cor, who is just a guest character. Lunafreya is also an oracle, which is someone who has the power to speak with the gods. She has also been dubbed the youngest oracle in history.
Cor Leonis
Cor Leonis is a 42-year old battle veteran who is obsessed with studying the art of war. He and Noctis might bump heads every now and then, but he is dedicated to protecting the crown from danger. He loves to wield a katana in battle.
Gladiolus Amicitia
Gladiolus is the protector of Noctis and is part of the royal circle of Lucis. He is not only sworn to protect Noctis, but the entire royal family. Both Noctis and Gladiolus grew up together so their bond is very strong and special. During gameplay, you’ll be able to spar with Gladiolus to build your combat skills.
Ignis Scientia
Ignis is another childhood friend of Noctis and has the ability to co-op moves with Noctis in-game. Noctis will usually refer to him as Iggy, and he is the team strategist for the royal family. When the player opts out of driving the car in Final Fantasy 15, Iggy always takes the wheel. Plus, word has it that he’s a killer chef.
Prompto Argentum
Prompto is a very fun character in Final Fantasy 15. Prompto and Noctis became friends early on in school and he loves his firearms. Prompto could be considered the resident photographer in the game, always snapping pictures on his cellphone of himself and the boys while they are off on their little road trip adventure. Interestingly enough, Prompto’s smartphone photos can actually be uploaded onto your social media account. And, though he’s at a lower social status than the rest of his friends, he manages to keep a playful personality within the group.
Aranea Highwind
Aranea Highwind was announced as a female villain for Final Fantasy 15 back in January. Attack Of The Fanboy describes her as a strong military leader. In the combat trailer featured in this guide, she can be seen at the very end of the trailer before the video stops.
Road Trip
Maybe one of the strangest aspects that has been reported on for the upcoming Final Fantasy 15 game is the fact that it’s going to be a road trip. Yes, Noctis and his trusty team of bros will get to cruise the countryside in a hot new convertible. You can check out a demo of the road trip gameplay here. You will be able to choose whether you want to drive in manual or automatic, both affecting gameplay. In manual, you will be able to take control of the wheel. But in automatic, you can chill in the passenger seat and take in the sights. In the aforementioned demo, the player decides to hop in the back and let someone else drive. And according to director Hajime Tabata in an interview with 4Gamer, he said he wanted to explore the bonds between men, saying,
We’re designing it to be a road movie that you can experience as an RPG. You’ll feel the romance of going on a trip, and such.
Playable Characters
Even though you travel around with your team, the only player you will be able to take control of is Noctis. The other guys Noctis explores with are Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Stupeo Scientia, Prompto Argentum, and Cor Leonis. Lunafreya will be a guest character, but will be more interactive than the other guest character, Cor Leonis.
Gameplay
No longer will you have to quickly and clumsily click through menus to equip weapons and enact spells, because Final Fantasy 15 hopes to zero in on more active combat in the gameplay. You will also be able to freerun and jump, as seen in the gameplay video here. Although it has been noted that despite the game being easier for others to quickly pick up and play, it’s still not being labeled as casual. Well, we would hope not. What’s a Final Fantasy game without a little challenge?
Combat
Aside from the more active combat, Final Fantasy 15 will also have two categories of magic: Noctis’ special magic and elemental magic, which allows the player to activate the magic by wearing special rings. And players can rejoice because magic won’t cost MP anymore.
Money
So how does a player survive in Final Fantasy 15? A large chunk of earning money to get gas for your car or food to eat comes from completing sidequests, so be ready to get grinding. Unlike other Final Fantasy games, players will have to keep up on feeding Noctis to make sure he’s performing at his best. While it’s not on the same level of keeping a Sim alive, it will still require money to buy food. You can see an example of these sidequests here.
Time
As with many games, time will always be different than it is in the real world. Even the very realistic Sims games have a different cycle than in real-life, otherwise we’d be hunkered over our gaming devices for hours upon hours. In Final Fantasy 15, one hour of playing in real-life is equal to one day in-game.
Stealth Mode
Final Fantasy 15 is going to be more than in-your-face combat with enemies. Noctis will have the opportunity to kill enemies in a stealth-mode as well. In the screenshot above, from GamesRadar, you can see Noctis sneaking up on an enemy base. This is also helpful for Noctis’ teleportation ability so he could appear right behind an enemy and take him out from behind.
Monsters
You might remember a certain Final Fantasy creature called a Moogle. After a vote by fans, it was announced that Moogles were coming back in Final Fantasy 15. Other than Moogles, there will be other more realistic monsters roaming the game, like Chocobos. Chocobos are giant, bird-like creatures you can totally hitch a ride on. On the other hand, Nagas are nightmare fuel, depicting a human-like head on a serpent’s body.
Fishing
At the center of the minigame universe in Final Fantasy 15 is, of course, fishing. Noctis can bring out his fishing pole and take a moment to see if anything’s biting. It’s a relaxing way to take a break from the hardcore gameplay. And to help sustain Noctis’ health, you can use the fish you catch as dinner.
Health Bar
During combat in Final Fantasy 15, you might find yourself with a diminishing health bar. But beware. When you hit zero, each hit you get after that is a hit against your HP. So if you’re at max HP and you get hit after your health sinks to zero, your HP won’t be at max anymore. Instead, it’ll start shrinking with each hit. So when you hit zero, you need to be extra careful because each hit affects the length of your HP.
Summons
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, you need to be extra careful when your health sinks to zero. But, there is one upside to this happening. When your health does get to zero, you gain the ability to call upon your Summons, and luckily for you, the Summons will be gigantic. So big that Noctis is smaller than the Summons’ hand. The only Summon we know about so far is the god of thunder, Ramuh.
Eating
As mentioned previously in the article, eating is going to be a major part of the game. Players will want to return their character to camp at the end of the day so that they have time to grab some grub and a good nap. Resting up and eating a good meal helps your character boost stats and prepare for the next battle. It will be important to keep your characters strength up so abilities are working at their best.
Party
Noctis will be able to run with three other party members in the game. Eventually, you’ll be able to choose who you want to bring along. And of course, abilities and weapons will vary from character to character. It has been mentioned that Lunafreya will be able to join the group as a guest party member.
Game Engine
The game engine being used in Final Fantasy 15 is probably something you’ve never heard of. It’s Square Enix’s newest game engine, Luminous. And with this new game engine, of course, comes an impressive level of detail.
Release Platforms
Final Fantasy 15 will be releasing on PS4 and Xbox One.
Combat Trailer
In February during the Active Time Report presentation, a new combat trailer was released, showing off combat in-game along with the newest announced villain, Aranea Highwind.
Well, Final Fantasy 15 is sure shaping up to be a great gaming experience. We'll keep you up to date on any new information as it becomes available.
