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All-New Press Previews of Final Fantasy XV's First 5 Chapters

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
You're not wrong.

At least they didn't keep those original designs. They've updated them enough to look more high fashion unrealistic rather than animu unrealistic. The only costume thing that bothers me at this point are Gladio's pants. Nobody wears high rise, wide leg jeans, bruh. Somebody get this man something with a tapered leg that isn't pulled up to his bellybutton.
I still hold the opinion that Tabata absolutely wishes he could've done something about Noctis's hair. Both the childhood and
adult versions
have way more normal hairstyles, (both are post Nomura designs), than the normal one that Nomura designed. I prefer it too.
noctis_as_child_by_jinmimkazama-d9xanvn.jpg

spoiler.
The thing with a lot of Japanese games and anime that is often quite comical is that hairstyles like noctis's usually are shown in childhood as if that's just the way their hair normally grows.
 

ED Cantu

Member
I still hold the opinion that Tabata absolutely wishes he could've done something about Noctis's hair. Both the childhood and
adult versions
have way more normal hairstyles, (both are post Nomura designs), than the normal one that Nomura designed. I prefer it too.
noctis_as_child_by_jinmimkazama-d9xanvn.jpg

Didn't child Noctis appear in the very first FF XV trailer in E3 2013? He was eating soup with OGRegis and looked exactly the same, and that was when nomura was still in charge so probably young Noctis is Nomura's design.

FINAL-FANTASY-XV.jpg
 

Falk

that puzzling face
Heck, people went nuts when Platinum Demo came out and he was wearing the same sweater, zips and all.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
People went apeshit over the fact he was wearing the same clothes.

Don't ask me, maybe the disappearance of Yakuza Regis and other stuff from E3 2013 left traumatic scars or something, that a small detail surviving was some kind of huge victory.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Didn't child Noctis appear in the very first FF XV trailer in E3 2013? He was eating soup with OGRegis and looked exactly the same, and that was when nomura was still in charge so probably young Noctis is Nomura's design.

FINAL-FANTASY-XV.jpg
Pretty sure at that point Nomura wasn't in charge anymore since despite makng the trailer.
 

.JayZii

Banned
People went apeshit over the fact he was wearing the same clothes.

Don't ask me, maybe the disappearance of Yakuza Regis and other stuff from E3 2013 left traumatic scars or something, that a small detail surviving was some kind of huge victory.
Aha. I wasn't sure if you meant that in a positive sense or not.
 

ED Cantu

Member
Pretty sure at that point Nomura wasn't in charge anymore since despite makng the trailer.
He was, Nomura was in charge in 2013.

Yes, Nomura was still the direcor of the game, I mean he appeared in the video talking about it, the trailer's dialogue was about the invasion to Insomnia (even if they were showing the attack on Altissia) and it was in the "world of the Versus epic" period, which was when Nomura wanted to make more than one game supposedly.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
He was, Nomura was in charge in 2013.
Yes, Nomura was still the direcor of the game, I mean he appeared in the video talking about it, the trailer's dialogue was about the invasion to Insomnia (even if they were showing the attack on Altissia) and it was in the "world of the Versus epic" period, which was when Nomura wanted to make more than one game supposedly.
My mistake then, still, the young version's hair looks a bit less Nomura'd ingame.
 

wmlk

Member
People went apeshit over the fact he was wearing the same clothes.

Don't ask me, maybe the disappearance of Yakuza Regis and other stuff from E3 2013 left traumatic scars or something, that a small detail surviving was some kind of huge victory.

When you think about it, it's actually kind of insane that people are looking out for these details. Just the way of fandom.
 
Speaking of pre/post Nomura designs, older Aldercapt seemed way more threatening and badass. In this picture in particular. Just oozing anger and confidence in that shot. A bit sad about the redesign. Also preferred old style Regis but given how they changed the whole Yakuza theme I get why they went for a more royal appearance.

But honestly, what I'm mostly sad about is never getting to witness a lot of the amazing CGI cutscenes lost to the Versus era. I sincerely doubt any of it will end up in XV given how much the narrative and designs changed. And man, jaws were dropped back in 2011 when we saw some of it. Many of what we saw in the scene with Driver-san still holds up so, so well.
 

wmlk

Member
Speaking of pre/post Nomura designs, older Aldercapt seemed way more threatening and badass. In this picture in particular. Just oozing anger and confidence in that shot. A bit sad about the redesign. Also preferred old style Regis but given how they changed the whole Yakuza theme I get why they went for a more royal appearance.

But honestly, what I'm mostly sad about is never getting to witness a lot of the amazing CGI cutscenes lost to the Versus era. I sincerely doubt any of it will end up in XV given how much the narrative and designs changed. And man, jaws were dropped back in 2011 when we saw some of it. Many of what we saw in the scene with Driver-san still holds up so, so well.

That guy is Verstael. Verstael and Idola still look the same from 2013.

This is Idola:

GgadX8L.jpg


OK, he's called Iedolas in the localization. Forgot. Lol
 
Speaking of pre/post Nomura designs, older Aldercapt seemed way more threatening and badass. In this picture in particular. Just oozing anger and confidence in that shot. A bit sad about the redesign. Also preferred old style Regis but given how they changed the whole Yakuza theme I get why they went for a more royal appearance.

But honestly, what I'm mostly sad about is never getting to witness a lot of the amazing CGI cutscenes lost to the Versus era. I sincerely doubt any of it will end up in XV given how much the narrative and designs changed. And man, jaws were dropped back in 2011 when we saw some of it. Many of what we saw in the scene with Driver-san still holds up so, so well.

That's actually not Aldercapt, that's Verstael. http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Verstael

Aldercapt would be this guy, the Emperor http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Iedolas_Aldercapt

It might be just me but Aldercapt seems a little thinner and more frail compared to the 2013 trailer. Still looks pretty much the same though.

edit: Curse you, wmlk!
 

Gbraga

Member
Speaking of pre/post Nomura designs, older Aldercapt seemed way more threatening and badass. In this picture in particular. Just oozing anger and confidence in that shot. A bit sad about the redesign. Also preferred old style Regis but given how they changed the whole Yakuza theme I get why they went for a more royal appearance.

But honestly, what I'm mostly sad about is never getting to witness a lot of the amazing CGI cutscenes lost to the Versus era. I sincerely doubt any of it will end up in XV given how much the narrative and designs changed. And man, jaws were dropped back in 2011 when we saw some of it. Many of what we saw in the scene with Driver-san still holds up so, so well.

This isn't Aldercapt, and he still looks quite similar:

rvdc.png


I agree with you about the CGI, though. They'll probably remove any scenes that would show party members because of the custom outfits. I really appreciate being able to change outfits, but I'd honestly take the jarring change between gameplay and CGI cutscene over having to choose either multiple outfits or CGI cutscenes.
 
That's actually not Aldercapt, that's Verstael. http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Verstael

Aldercapt would be this guy, the Emperor http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Iedolas_Aldercapt

It might be just me but Aldercapt seems a little thinner and more frail compared to the 2013 trailer. Still looks pretty much the same though.

edit: Curse you, wmlk!

That guy is Verstael. Verstael and Idola still look the same from 2013.

This is Idola:

GgadX8L.jpg


OK, he's Iedolas now. Forgot. Lol


Thank you both, I completely missed they're two different people. They seemed very, very similar in older footage so I assumed that was just Idola wearing a different outfit to the robe we've seen him in. My mistake.
 
Thank you both, I completely missed they're two different people. They seemed very, very similar so I assumed that was just Idola wearing a different outfit to the robe we've seen him in. My mistake.

The first couple times I watched the 2013 trailer back then I thought they were the same guy too.
 
It might be just me but Aldercapt seems a little thinner and more frail compared to the 2013 trailer. Still looks pretty much the same though.

He definitely looks different. In 2013 he had "forked" eyebrows for example (kinda like Ryu and co. in Street Fighter Alpha artwork) whereas the final version has flat eyebrows.

ajuGcTi.jpg
UTo16xg.jpg
 

AngryNeox

Neo Member
Do we know if this is part of the "open world"?

Because I'm pretty sure I found the location of it as seen here. (It obviously isn't Leide)

Do we have any more informations on the stuff north of the known map? I was really starting to think there wouldn't be anything there in the final game.
 

sappyday

Member
Do we know if this is part of the "open world"?


Because I'm pretty sure I found the location of it as seen here. (It obviously isn't Leide)


Do we have any more informations on the stuff north of the known map? I was really starting to think there wouldn't be anything there in the final game.

It is Leide. Just in different time of day. That huge rock is speculated to be
Adamantoise
 

Tyaren

Member
Do we know if this is part of the "open world"?


Because I'm pretty sure I found the location of it as seen here. (It obviously isn't Leide)


Do we have any more informations on the stuff north of the known map? I was really starting to think there wouldn't be anything there in the final game.

This is definitely the Leide desert. As sappyday said, the big rock is very distinctive and in the back across the sea you can make out Insomnia. Well, in this tiny image you can't really make anything out, lol. Wikia always shrinks hotlinked images. Here's a link to it:
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/e/e6/Lucis-Wasteland-FFXV.png/revision/latest/zoom-crop/width/480/height/480?cb=20160518205700&format=webp

Here's the rock from another perspective:

08463068-photo-vlcsnap-00001.jpg


The region you are referring to is Galahd, a location in Kingsglaive and probably exclusive to Kingsglaive as it looks so far. It's the upper image and looks a bit like a barren, deserted Duscae with it's stone arches:

tumblr_o82a83kZYs1s2b58zo10_1280.jpg
 
He definitely looks different. In 2013 he had "forked" eyebrows for example (kinda like Ryu and co. in Street Fighter Alpha artwork) whereas the final version has flat eyebrows.

ajuGcTi.jpg
UTo16xg.jpg

Also, OG Verstael looked grumpy as fuck, while neo-Verstael looks like the coeurl that ate the chocobo. I preferred Mr. Grumpy Pants actually...
 

Neiteio

Member
So it looks like the deluxe edition comes with Kingsglaive. Will that include the Brotherhood anime? Reason I ask is because the standalone Kingsglaive release is two disks, but best as I can tell, the version included with the deluxe edition of the game is one disk.

edit: Hmm, Amazon says the deluxe edition doesn't include Brotherhood. Are there other ways to watch it? I think YouTube?
 

Neiteio

Member
I should also ask: How was Kingsglaive, anyway? I found Advent Children decently enjoyable.

Wasn't originally interested in FFXV, but I'm currently loving FFVII, and the positive press for XV has me interested and looking at the deluxe edition that includes Kingsglaive.

Also, is there Pro support planned for FFXV, and if so, when is it expected to arrive?
 
So it looks like the deluxe edition comes with Kingsglaive. Will that include the Brotherhood anime? Reason I ask is because the standalone Kingsglaive release is two disks, but best as I can tell, the version included with the deluxe edition of the game is one disk.

edit: Hmm, Amazon says the deluxe edition doesn't include Brotherhood. Are there other ways to watch it? I think YouTube?

Just buy FFXV regular edition and the KG+ Brotherhood combo. It's cheaper or just about the same price.

Brotherhood free on YouTube btw.
 
I should also ask: How was Kingsglaive, anyway? I found Advent Children decently enjoyable.

Wasn't originally interested in FFXV, but I'm currently loving FFVII, and the positive press for XV has me interested and looking at the deluxe edition that includes Kingsglaive.

Also, is there Pro support planned for FFXV, and if so, when is it expected to arrive?
Pro support is confirmed but aside from the HDR and higher quality look we don't know what the final Pro version will look like. There is a clip of the game running in Pro mode but it's off camera.

People can correct me if I'm mistaken though!
 

sappyday

Member
I should also ask: How was Kingsglaive, anyway? I found Advent Children decently enjoyable.

Wasn't originally interested in FFXV, but I'm currently loving FFVII, and the positive press for XV has me interested and looking at the deluxe edition that includes Kingsglaive.

Also, is there Pro support planned for FFXV, and if so, when is it expected to arrive?

Editing and action choreography is a mess. Most characters are shit. Terrible dub. Beautiful visuals though.

If I were you I would wait until you have the game. Watch KG while the game is installing or something and then play the game. Basically pretend that it's a CG intro the game. Cause that's the only way it really works.
 
I actually liked Kingsglaive a lot. Even the dub was enjoyable to me (sans that after credits scene, dub was awful there) and I'm one of the guys who is not a big fan of FFXV's dub.

At any rate, I think if you are interested in the game then you should watch both Kingsglaive and Brotherhood anime. They add quite a bit to the world and story. Also, Nyx is an awesome character.
 

Neiteio

Member
Just buy FFXV regular edition and the KG+ Brotherhood combo. It's cheaper or just about the same price.

Brotherhood free on YouTube btw.
If Brotherhood is free on YouTube, then I don't really mind the deluxe edition's copy of Kingsglaive not including it. Tempted to get the deluxe edition for the game + movie combo and the steel case with the Amano art. I guess the DLC extras are nice, too.

I'd basically treat Kingsglaive like a glorified CGI cutscene helping to establish the world. Probably worth it for the visuals if nothing else.

EDIT: Oh, hey! Just realized Prime savings knocks off $18, and then I also had $21 left over from a gift card. Brings the $90 deluxe edition down to $55. Nice!
 

Munti

Member
I should also ask: How was Kingsglaive, anyway? I found Advent Children decently enjoyable.

I love it a lot! Much more then AC. It has also less action sequences then AC (I think), which I think is good.
But it got mix impressions on Gaf so it's hard to tell if you will also like it. I for myself recommend it
 
I'm reposting this from Storm at Mognet Central, but it looks like a new continent is confirmed, TERRAVERDE. If you look under the caption it clearly says "The vast and varied lands of Terraverde, a Continent of Eos." Eos, of course, being the name of FFXV's world.

5Dv8ZFi.jpg


This is definitely not the starting continent of Lucis (?) where Duscae, Leide and Cleigne are.
 

Philippo

Member
I'm reposting this from Storm at Mognet Central, but it looks like a new continent is confirmed, TERRAVERDE. If you look under the caption it clearly says "The vast and varied lands of Terraverde, a Continent of Eos." Eos, of course, being the name of FFXV's world.

5Dv8ZFi.jpg


This is definitely not the starting continent of Lucis (?) where Duscae, Leide and Cleigne are.

I'm going by logic, but i guess a good part of Terraverde is the area of Accordo kingdom: first because it has an italian name and Altissia is italia themed, and second because the geography of it looks very costal, very much like Altissia.
 
I'm going by logic, but i guess a good part of Terraverde is the area of Accordo kingdom: first because it has an italian name and Altissia is italia themed, and second because the geography of it looks very costal, very much like Altissia.

That actually makes a lot of sense, Accordio being in Terraverde as they share an Italian themed name. Maybe the forest looking area on top has Tenebrae in it too.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
10 years ago fables were told about an upcoming game that dealt with an "isolated nation protected by an ancient lines of kings. A modern civilization alive with the crystal songs of swords and sorcery." The people were excited and anticipated such an event with open arms, ushering a new era of FF.

Nothing went as expected, a false prophet claiming to be goddess not only descended from the heavens not once but three times. The people lost faith, fear engulfed joyful hearts, skepticism grew strong and the arrival of the true king was nowhere in sight.

Years passed.. and the people wondered if the king had abandoned them..little did they know the king was always watching over as his eyes grew tired of watching the life of expiring threads throughout the passage of time expecting his arrival.

On a random summer day, the king graced us with his arrival. Legend has it he was received with cheers and excitement by everyone! faith was renewed. However, unforeseen events led to dramatic changes. The king was haunted, condemned by many, few faithfuls remained by his side.. it was dark time indeed, the unconditional love provided by many was eradicated.

The king was out on a mission to reclaim his throne and to prove to himself that he's worthy to sit alongside the previous kings that came before him. Slowly but surely skeptics started to come over to his side and a sense of positiveness engulfed everyone.. but the journey is far from over, it's only just begun.

*gets on one knee and stabs the engine blade into the ground.. " People deserve more, people deserve the best and people deserve to have their faith and patience rewarded..and i intend to deliver.

- A King's promise, from the book of the XVersus epic.


j2A5RR.gif


Ontopic: the chocobo leveling up system looks fantastic hopefully they get more abilities like link attacks and such.


NoctisVsStar..... my....son ;_;

BELIEVE!
 
Wheres a good place to read up on this, gameplay summaries, combat etc...? Trying to avoid spoilers but a brief intro to the world and lore I don't mind.

I had no faith in SE to pull off anything remotely decent after FF13 but the latest videos make it look good.
 

Koozek

Member
Wheres a good place to read up on this, gameplay summaries, combat etc...? Trying to avoid spoilers but a brief intro to the world and lore I don't mind.

I had no faith in SE to pull off anything remotely decent after FF13 but the latest videos make it look good.
Well, probably the previews in the OP. The USgamer multi-part preview from Jeremy Parish is very nice. Breaks down the combat, the exploration etc.


USGamer:

Part 1:

Final Fantasy XV Travel Diary, Day One: Against All Odds
- Jeremy goes hands-on with six hours of Square Enix's troubled RPG and finds all that time and trouble have happily paid off with an excellent new take on Final Fantasy.


"That's an enormous burden for a single game to shoulder, and by all rights FFXV should be a failure. A spectacular failure, at that. Yet I've put in half a dozen hours with the game now, starting from the very beginning, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find they may just have pulled off what by all rights should be an impossible feat. [...]

And, incidentally, I could have finished the game's first chapter in far fewer than six hours. But FFXV really sets you loose once the introduction has rolled, and I've spent most of my time wandering the wastes in search of hidden quests (there are a few!), secret fishing spots (I found a doozy tucked away in some ruins), completing monster hunts (and there are still quite a few in this region that are well beyond my team's current capabilities), and generally just seeing where I can go (basically anywhere that isn't walled off). Square Enix has a lot riding on this game, and despite all odds, FFXV just might be able to shoulder those impossible expectations.
"​

Part 2:

Final Fantasy XV Travel Diary, Day Two: Force Your Way
- An in-depth look at Final Fantasy XV's combat system, and how it's improved from the early demos.


It's possible to play it as a pure, real-time action game... but I don't recommend it. Combat can be hectic, and not necessarily in a good way. Enemies don't have as many tells on their actions as in a good action game like Bayonetta, and they have a tendency to gang up on Noctis. You can make use of defensive phasing, but FFXV doesn't quite come together as an action game... which is fine. It's an RPG, and despite the enormous shift in its underlying design philosophy from previous games in the series, I've found myself surprised by how much it evokes classic Final Fantasy. It's a nebulous thing, the idea of "feel" and "fidelity," but there's more of it here than I would have anticipated.​

Part 3:

Final Fantasy XV Travel Diary, Day Three: Authentic Road Trip
- The greatest strength of this Japanese RPG just might be how perfectly it captures the experience of trekking through the American hinterlands.


So yes: Final Fantasy XV feels nostalgic. It contains constant callbacks to earlier games in the series, of course — that's to be expected for a Final Fantasy game. Even though battles take place seamlessly in the game world, even though there's no victory fanfare when battles can flow one into the other, even though you're battling monsters in real-time with minimal use of menus, it still captures a certain ineffable sense of Final Fantasy. But for someone who grew up ranging across America's so-called "flyover states," this game improbably kindles some long-forgotten memories.

It's a strange juxtaposition, smashing Final Fantasy aesthetics and tropes together with what amounts to a road trip across what appears to be a thinly veiled simulation of the rural United States. But it works. Roaming vast spaces that are something besides the generic fantasy lands or non-specific wildernesses of other enormous games creates a subtle anchor for a story that amounts to one part Final Fantasy VI, one part Game of Thrones. A big part of what drove me to explore the desolate corners of Liede was the quality and familiarity of the land, and that sensation has only grown since I've reached the Duscae province.

And I've still only seen a small percentage of the overall game world, and completed an even smaller fraction of its quests and story. And that's OK by me. I haven't been hooked by a game world like this in a long, long time, and I'm more than happy to take this experience slowly and savor it.​

Update:
Code:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Cq9vS6G.png[/IMG]
 

jschreier

Member
Guessing the continent we've all seen a lot (Liede, Duscae, etc.) is the "open world" part of the game and that the second half of FFXV takes place in a totally different area that's far more linear.
 

grendelrt

Member
Since the dub is a popular topic atm, is there any comparisons of the English vs Japanese dub? Curious to see the quality, the English after kingsglaive left a lot to be desired, hoping it's not normal.
 
Guessing the continent we've all seen a lot (Liede, Duscae, etc.) is the "open world" part of the game and that the second half of FFXV takes place in a totally different area that's far more linear.

I thought it was clarified that it was only towards the latter of the second half where it progresses more linear.

Anyhow, I do think there's at least one more continent that's as open as the first one, and a third where it becomes more linear.

Or linear could simply mean there's direct points on the world map (could even be places you've been to before) that you have to go to without having the option to do other side quests.
 

Koozek

Member
Since the dub is a popular topic atm, is there any comparisons of the English vs Japanese dub? Curious to see the quality, the English after kingsglaive left a lot to be desired, hoping it's not normal.
Here is a small direct comparison:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92jWMTK9EOM

Otherwise watch these two Japanese and English videos of the first hour and compare for yourself:

JP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpFD6Hcx-Fc

EN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCBbFwdpC6o
 
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