Fans of the single-player Final Fantasy games have been waiting since 2010 for a new numbered title in the venerable series. In fact, given the mixed fan reaction to Final Fantasy XIII, some fans have been waiting even longer for what they would consider a new Final Fantasy.
At this week’s Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix provided the most in-depth look yet at the upcoming Final Fantasy XV. The publisher released a two-and-a-half minute trailer for the game, which includes plenty of gameplay.
Final Fantasy XV was first announced at the 2006 E3 conference as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. After years of silence the game finally reemerged at Sony’s memorable 2013 E3 press conference as the next numbered title in the Final Fantasy series.
Due to the success of Bravely Default, a game inspired by older turn-based Final Fantasy titles, Square Enix has announced it will be taking a long look at the direction of the Final Fantasy series going forward. Final Fantasy XV, however, is still part of the publisher’s recent trend of making Final Fantasy more action-oriented.
The gameplay seen in the preview features a very minimal user interface comprised of only life bars and floating damage indicators. This could mean that the interface was pasted-on to make the preview seem more like real gameplay, or it could hint that Final Fantasy XV is closer to a character action game than to a turn-based RPG. Fans likely won’t know more on this topic for quite some time – Square Enix hasn’t put out any details to accompany the trailer.
What is clear is that Final Fantasy XV is set to be the best-looking Final Fantasy game yet. For over two years now Square Enix has been showing off a beautiful tech demo for its new Luminous Studio game engine. The Final Fantasy XV seen in the new preview looks every bit as good as that “Agni’s Philosophy” demo and, even with an inevitable downgrade for consoles, should be impressive when running on a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.