The road trip RPG rumbles ever closer
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There’s yet another version of the Duscae demo on the way apparently, hopefully giving us a chance to play around with the magic system that was sadly missing from the previous versions. As long as these constant demo updates aren’t eating into the progress of the core game, we’re all kinds of fine with this – more public exposure to games during development can only be a good thing and the team has made it clear that it is reacting to feedback.
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Tetsuya Nomura may be off the project now to concentrate on Kingdom Hearts III, but his influence is still felt in terms of character design – Noctis and his pals all manage to feel distinct despite the style of the group being largely uniform. If anything, this is probably a good thing. Nomura seems to have a tendency to overthink designs these days... just look at his ludicrous DC ‘reimaginings’ for the PlayArts figure range.
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Combat has been completely overhauled since the Duscae demo, meaning different types of attack are no longer tied to equipped weapons and enemy states. It sounds like the new system is much more open to creative expression, almost in line with character action games or notable action-RPGs such as the Souls series. Placing more power in players’ hands also lends itself well to this generation’s new bent towards sharing, watching and streaming.
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Anyone who loved the cinematic summon sequences in previous games is in luck – XV’s summons are show-stopping moments that really put the engine to work. We’ve seen Ramuh’s electrifying return and been given a glimpse at Leviathan so far, and this only serves to get us hyped for the more elaborate animations. Imagine summoning Knights Of The Round or Bahamut (especially after A Realm Reborn’s opening) in this engine. Yeah, sign us up.
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On that topic, Ramuh’s activation requires Noctis to be knocked out, suggesting that other summons will also bend the typical ‘hit me up in the menu and let’s wreck some shit’ method. The potential here is huge – what if Ifrit only shows up once you’ve razed enough of the battlefield with fire spells, or Odin has a random chance of appearing on activation of skills, akin to Fallout’s recurring Mysterious Stranger perk? Don’t drop the ball on this, Square...
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Taking inspiration from real world locations allows the team to create settings that feel at once familiar and fantastical – as much as an area may look and feel a bit like Monaco or Vegas, the fantasy element of the game is still very much intact and helps to make places that you’ll really want to explore. The grassy expanse of the Duscae region doesn’t do the game any favours in this respect, but it’s just one of many areas you’ll traverse in the final game.
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Those complaining about the action-heavy nature of the combat would do well to do a little homework. The last mainline traditional menu-based FF was over a decade ago (XII doesn’t count – its Gambit system really helped shake things up) and action is where it’s at these day. Hell, even the FFVII remake is taking a similar approach to battles. Zeboyd and other indies continue to represent the old-school approach, so it’s hard to bemoan the progenitors for wanting to move on.
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The tight focus on a core cast of characters should allow FFXV to tell a stronger story than party-based RPGs that allow characters to be swapped in and out at will. The likes of Persona and the Tales games use social interactions aside from the main narrative to flesh out characters while allowing for each players’ specific choices to feel like they matter but here, the constant cast (albeit one with a ‘lads only’ policy – an odd choice for Square) could yet show a positive side.
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Hoping for mini-games? You got ‘em. Only fishing has been shown off so far but Triple Triad remains popular (see also: a new iOS app pretty much built around the card game and the Gold Saucer in FFXIV), we’d be amazed if a variant of the simple collectible card game didn’t make it in. Bonus marks if Square includes legacy character cards in addition to XV-based ones – we’ll pay top dollar for a mint Squall holofoil.
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While it might have been in development for a decade in some form, that’s not cause for concern as it usually is. Several engine and platform changes (as well as some key staff movements) have altered the trajectory of development significantly, and Square Enix’s clear responses to fan feedback have been promising. If the team does indeed manage to get the game finished for 2016, chances are it’ll be worth the wait.