14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Square Enix delivered more information regarding the upcoming Final Fantasy XV, a highly-anticipated role-playing game that's been eight years in the making.
The company held a presentation of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, featuring the game's director, Hajime Tabata, who is also leading the Final Fantasy XV development process since earlier this year, and who talked about the upcoming games, revealing additional information that he could not reveal during the presentation at last month's Tokyo Game Show.
During the Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Extended Talk Show broadcast, Tabata talked about the technology behind the game, the new, streamlined battle system and the environments that players will venture to in FFXV.
Concerns about "one button" gameplay
Tabata mentioned earlier that Final Fantasy XV would not feature the complexity of previous installments in the long-standing role-playing game series, at least not when it comes to combat. The whole idea is to make gameplay flow more naturally, and to enable the game's artificial intelligence to select which move to use, instead of requiring players to make shows of dexterity while playing.
The director said that this change is meant to enable newcomers to the series or older gamers to still be able to enjoy the storyline, without demanding mechanical perfection on their part.
Many gamers started to worry after hearing the news, fearing that the game would play itself, and that their input would be meaningless. Tabata sought to address this concern, saying that it's not as simple as mashing the same button over and over.
Not as simple as it sounds
"When you continue to hold down the guard button, you can basically auto-guard and evade, but it consumes MP. You can't infinitely evade. You have to think about timing, when it's a good idea to attack or evade. Also, you aren't invincible. There are attacks you can't avoid. In those cases, there are also essential technical evasion methods," the director explained.
"When you push the attack button, you invoke the standard combo. You can change the actions by using it in coordination with the directional buttons. The actions change depending on your circumstances—things like whether you're guarding and whether the timing is right, or if your companions are nearby," Tabata continued.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is the complete remake of the PSP hit from 2011, and gamers who purchase it will also get a promotional code that grants them access to the upcoming Final Fantasy XV demo, which will be released later next year.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is scheduled for launch in 2015, on March 17 in North America, March 19 in Japan, and March 20 in Europe and other PAL territories, headed for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms, just like Final Fantasy XV. The latter does not yet have a prospective release date announced.
