Final Fantasy XV: Rise from (Development) Hell

After all these years of skepticism, it’s mind-blowing that Final Fantasy XV (formerly known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII) has finally received a release date, after a tumultuous development period. It’s also purely coincidental that I’m starting another post expressing a little surprise regarding something Square Enix-related for the second day in a row, but the repetition is worth it. They’re full of surprises these days.

As shown with last night’s “Uncovered” event: Final Fantasy XV has been given a release date of September 30th for the worldwide audience. This will finally bring one of the longest periods of development hell for a video game in history to a close. Not that you needed to see the event to know this, as not only was the rumored date from two-and-a-half weeks ago accurate, but Gamespot accidentally posted a since-removed video containing this info a day early. It was an honest mistake, but I’m sure Square Enix had some not-so-pleasant words for them. I just hope it didn’t lead to a job loss.

Though this event was primarily for the release date announcement and promotional opportunities, another key purpose was to instill confidence in FFXV and the entire Final Fantasy brand again. This was shown by Square Enix getting the franchise’s former key creative heads involved, namely creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, artist Yoshitaka Amano, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. The first two attended in the flesh, and Sakaguchi provided encouraging opening words for the conference. Though Uematsu couldn’t attend due to a Distant Worlds performance, he also had positive things to say regarding FF’s current place in the gaming world. Heck, they even included a very subtle jab at the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. It was effective with its intentions to instill faith in the future of the franchise, but FFXV itself will have to live up to expectations for this to matter.

Amano also provided some beautiful new artwork, which was prominently displayed outside the event. It was also given a 3D “Big Bang” treatment. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to release a high quality version of the art.

The main game-related showcase from the conference was the “Reclaim Your Throne” trailer, which refers to how protagonist Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, well, lost the throne he’ll have to reclaim in the main game. That trailer also contains the English theme, a new rendition of the late Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” performed by Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine. Having a theme that’s a new rendition of a classic song is more traditional for Hollywood movies than games, and given the presentation heights AAA games often strive for, Square Enix will likely welcome this comparison.

There’s also a new demo called Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV (yes, they have clever names for all of these), one completely different from the Episode Duscae version included with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. This one stars a young Noctis, who makes his way through a surreal dream sequence. The purpose of this demo is to be unintimidating, and ease both experienced and especially new players into its gameplay systems. Given the nature of the combat and young protagonist, it’s tough not to think of Kingdom Hearts while seeing it in motion, though FFXV’s action-based system has its own unique quirks. Unlike Episode Duscae, this demo’s content won’t be included in the main game; instead, it serves as a prequel and tech demo for what the final game will contain. It’s currently available for download in all regions on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Those who finish it will have the option of using the Carbuncle summon in the main game.

Also confirmed was a new mini-game called Justice Monsters Five, a pinball game also being released separately as a free-to-play title for mobile platforms and Windows 10. It will release later this year.

There may have been questions regarding whether Square Enix would hold back their promotional efforts a bit, due to this game clearly being well over-budget. But they made sure to dispel with that fiction completely. In addition to the traditional video game promotion it will have(trailers, gameplay videos, etc.), it’s receiving enough tie-ins to qualify as its own cross-media franchise.

For one, it will have a five-episode OAV anime series called Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, which will detail the story of Noctis and his friends prior to the game’s beginning. Comparisons were made between the designs of Noctis and the Naruto series’ Sasuke before, but they really look similar in anime form. The first episode is currently available, and the entire series will be posted for free before the game’s 9/30 release date. Wait, actually that’s most of the episodes, as a sixth one will come exclusively with the expensive Deluxe Collector’s Edition. They’ll want to release that soon after the CE, or it will be part of an incredibly popular torrent immediately after it’s available.

Since that wasn’t enough, there will also be a prequel CG movie called Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. It will tell the story of Nyx, a member of the Kingsglaive group led by King Regis, Noctis’ father. They hired some high-quality talent for the English voices here, including Lena Headey as Luna, Sean Bean as King Regis, and Aaron Paul as Nyx. Sadly, and peculiarly, they won’t be reprising these roles in the main game. Also, a real one-of-a-kind Audi R8 based on the one used in Kingsglaive will be made. Details on this will be forthcoming, but it was mentioned that it cannot be purchased — unless someone sells theirs.

With FFXV being a AAA game, there was no way it wouldn’t have limited editions, and they’re coming in multiple flavors. There’s a “Day One Edition” that will include yet-to-be-specified DLC. The $90 Deluxe Edition will include a number of cosmetic DLC, and the game and movie in a Steelbook package containing new Amano art. Lastly, the Ultimate Collector’s Edition will come with a plethora of goodies, including its own unique Steelbook packaging, the complete anime series (including the aforementioned exclusive sixth episode), the movie, a Play Arts figure of Noctis, a Special Soundtrack including tracks from the game, movie, and anime, a 192-page hardcover art book, and special equipment DLC. That’s a lot of extras, so it’s no surprise that will run you a hefty $270. It’s already too late to get one from Square Enix’s website, considering only 30,000 are being made worldwide. This is already expensive, but if you really want it, be prepared to pay a very high price on sites that deal with second-hand sales.

Now that we know the release date, Final Fantasy XV’s advertising campaign is kicking into high gear. And they’ll need all the promotion they can get, considering this has to sell ten million copies to profit, according to director Hajime Tabata. Games that emerge from development hell rarely turn out well, but it would be best for everyone if this ends up one of those rare cases — especially Square Enix. It feels as if the future of the Final Fantasy franchise is riding on this game’s critical and commercial success, to the chagrin of a development team that was already given an immense amount of pressure. We’ll see if they have a hit on their hands in late-September.

If you want to watch the full presentation, feel free to do so here — all three hours of it, though it includes the pre and post-shows.