Square Enix showcased a live gameplay demo of Final Fantasy XV during a Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Talk Show stage event at the Tokyo Game Show.
Additionally, director Hajime Tabata shared new details on the “Episode Duscae” demo included with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
First, “Duscae” is the name of one of the areas in the game world—not a pun on the Japanese phrase “desu ka,” which translates to “Is it?” (Or in this case, “Final Fantasy XV: Is It an Episode?“)
The length of the demo is about one hour if you only play the story, but can last up to four hours with dungeons and exploration.
The field is open-world and players can get around by car or on foot. Players can drive the car on their own, or set their destination and have the car auto-drive with Ignis at the wheel. In the latter case, you can enjoy the sounds of conversation amongst the group as you head towards your destination. If timing allows it, Tabata also wants to include Chocobos as another means of transportation in the demo.
The demo won’t have any boss fights, but it will have something “more amazing than a boss” that “will have a strong impact on” and surprise Final Fantasy fans.
Despite Square Enix seemingly confirming the demo will launch day-and-date with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, Tabata said that they’re trying to get it out on the same day as or near the launch of the game.
The new footage, which was dubbed “The Overture” demo, started off with a showcase of the game’s dynamic weather system. When it rains, the clothes and hair of the characters will continue to get more and more wet. And in the game world, puddles will automatically form. The game calculates the differences in terrain height, and it won’t really get wet where there’s a roof overhead. When the weather becomes sunny, the player’s clothes and hair, and the roads and such of the game world will dry up in a more natural form.
The demonstration also showcased the game’s dynamic day-night system, which features adjusted lighting depending on the time of day.
Also shown in the footage, Noctis has a sword warping ability that players can use to quickly teleport across the battlefield. You’ll use an reticle to aim and toss your sword, before warping from location A to B.
In battle, holding down the guard button will have Noctis continually dodge the enemy’s attacks, while holding down the attack button will have him continually interlink attacks. You’ll also see Noctis aided by his companions with team attacks. This is an automatic process activated when Noctis is near his friends and requires no special operation.
In the full game, you’ll also be able to fight the huge Adamantoise shown in Wednesday’s trailer. But Tabata notes that it will likely take a long time before you are powerful enough to defeat it. “He’s absurdly strong,” he said.
Graphically, the game is currently near 70 to 80 percent quality level, and should increase more by the time the demo releases. The development environment at the time of E3 was a provisional environment called “Ebony,” but it’s now in the process of moving over to Square Enix’s in-house Luminous Engine. “We couldn’t move 100 percent of the motion and such over, so we’re going to be raising the quality,” Tabata said.
From hereon, Square Enix plans to put out regular updates through its website, Square Enix Presents program, and related methods. There are also plans to exhibit the game at Jump Festa in December.
Watch the new demonstration footage below. (Download it here.)
Thanks, 4Gamer.net, Dengeki, and Famitsu.