Final Fantasy XV

Unreleased

Final Fantasy XV, originally known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, is the fifteenth installment in the main Final Fantasy series. It's also a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series, alongside Final Fantasy XIII. The game, however, has no physical connections to the rest of the project, and will feature a wholly independent story and a unique visual design. It is currently under development for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was first announced at E3 2006 alongside Final Fantasy XIII. It follows the story of Noctis Lucis Caelum, a protector of the last remaining city in the world with control over crystals.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was originally developed with the Crystal Tools engine, but it was announced in December 2011 that the game had been moved to a game-specific engine for the gameplay mechanics, while the lighting is done by the Luminous Engine and the Crystal Tools is still doing the real-time graphics.

At E3 2013, the game was revealed to have been rebranded as Final Fantasy XV, and availability for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was announced.

The game's focus is to examine the characters' humanity and distinguish it from the fantasy setting in other titles in the series. Nomura is "trying to propose new vision of how a Final Fantasy game can be. The game's going to be more human than the science-fiction caricature... and will focus around current world events - in that sense it's darker."

Gameplay
Director Tetsuya Nomura has stated he aims to create previously unseen "tricky" battle sequences, reminiscent of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children film. Nomura has revealed the game will be action-oriented, and will include some elements of a third-person shooter similar to Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-. Nomura has said the game will have support, but gave no specifics about it.

Summons are in the game and will have to be defeated to be used. They will be based on a ranking system and their size will influence their rank. For example, Leviathan is one of the top-ranked summons, and it's shown by its massive size.

A brief demo gameplay video was shown during Tokyo Game Show 2009. It depicted Noctis running through a city which shifted from day to night, then to a field full of large creatures. At Jump Festa 2010, a video with actual gameplay about one minute in length was shown. It had Noctis waiting on a highway for a car during the day; he gets in the car and it drives off. The footage was displayed in real time, and had improved lighting, character models and environments.

At Square Enix's conference on January 18, 2011, a long section of gameplay footage was shown in a new trailer. It depicted Noctis walking, right after the scene with Stella, and running after several explosions happen. Noctis is shown fighting enemies, which include soldiers, a Behemoth, and various monsters. The damage dealt by the attacks is shown on screen. As shown in the trailer, Noctis can have characters assist him during battles.

Players will be able to switch between characters on the fly, allowing the opportunity to create multi-character combos. A third person aiming mode for firearms has also been shown, exclusive to the character Prompto. The player seems to be able to control mechanic structures, such as tanks or robots. The footage depicted a menu titled "EX Arts," but its function remains unknown, and was removed in 2013 gameplay demonstrations.

Monsters wander throughout the field and sometimes hostile ones will suddenly appear to ambush the player.

Battle System
The action and pace will be similar to what is found in Kingdom Hearts but united with new mechanics. Battles will be seamless and transition will have no load times. Battles will take place in real-time environments using all regions of the field, from up high buildings to down low streets. Nomura has said battles take place in areas with great differences in height, and players will have to fight using the full environment. This means fighting what's both in front of the player and above and below (vertical battles). Players can climb onto large enemies to reach their weak points, and to take down specific parts.

One of the trailers shows Noctis selecting from a number of different weapons to defeat the enemy soldiers in front of him. The various weapons in the game will have different methods of attack, and some will even be usable as shields to go along with Noctis's crystal power. Weapons will have some sort of customization element. The trailer showed Noctis warping around killing enemies; Nomura explained players won't be able to warp freely to every spot, but it will be possible to warp to the location where the player has placed their sword. The player can throw their sword and warp to that location as well.

In the E3 2013 Battle Gameplay Trailer, Noctis is shown to use a Warp command to throw his sword into objects and enemies, and then instantly teleporting to them for regular Attack commands. Warping, along with Magic, require units of MP to perform, but the Warp command will be exclusive to Noctis. A new "Link Form" command was also seen in use, which allowed Noctis to grapple with a soldier and slam the enemy into the side of a car, and even climb up a Behemoth's horns to reach a more favorable position. This suggests Link Form could be an invaluable function for interacting with enemies and vehicles alike. Noctis is said to be on a high level in the demo, and that all the abilities portrayed in the video will not be available to players from the start of the game.

Nomura has stated that Noctis's eyes and hair change with his emotions, as well as different actions in battle. There will be a sub window that copies Noctis's expression shown at the bottom of the screen, similar to Kingdom Hearts, but with more detail.

As seen with Prompto, all team members will have different approaches and specialties in battle unique to them. There will be situations where the playable characters will be able to perform co-op attacks, such as Noctis fighting an Iron Giant and teaming up with Prompto and Gladiolus to take it down. Party members will also automatically react to situations differently according to the circumstances. In the E3 2013 trailers, as Noctis is finishing his assault on enemies, Prompto steps in and kills one off for him, and Gladiolus puts himself between Noctis and a Behemoth, protecting the former as it charges at him.

Magic will be available in battle, and spells will have unique effects and manifestations among each team member. Noctis must be included in the team to have access to magic, as the ability is related to the powers of the crystal.

Game World
Players will find a big world map with vast fields where they will be able to explore as far as the eye can reach, except for the mountains. Nomura says the game is not open, but is more like the 2D Final Fantasy games in HD and in third person view. The player will be able to drive a car and fly airships just like in older Final Fantasy titles.

Nomura also says the day and night cycles and cloud formations are done by physical calculations. It was decided to be made this way to have a smooth change between the cycles and to have a more dynamic lighting system, reflecting the mood of a certain region/place. The game will be seamless and the only loading the player will experience is between large areas. The loading will occur while watching an event scene to give players a more immersive experience.

The game is stated by Nomura to have two types of cutscenes: prerendered movies and real-time event scenes. The real-time event scenes are similar to the cutscenes found in FPS games with the player having full control over the camera. Nomura states that in previous games they had to make separate hi-poly models for cutscenes, however with the technology of today the only difference between the hi-poly models of the prerendered movies, and the low-poly models of the game in Final Fantasy XV, is the hair. Nomura stated that Noctis will have a cellphone, which can be used to take in-game pictures.

The world of Final Fantasy XV takes place in what seems to be similar to the real world, with modern technology such as cars and highways, but also contains countries with medieval elements, such as castles and armored soldiers. According to the developers, the game's locations are based on real world locations. So far, the following replicas have been seen or confirmed by the developers: Piazza San Marco and Basilica (from Venice, Italy), Manchester (England), a U.S. gas station and Shinjuku (an area of Tokyo, Japan).

Story
Noctis Lucis Caelum — the latest in a lineage of kings, and the heir apparent to the throne — leads the kingdom of Lucis, a country holding the world's last crystal, which is beneficial to his country's military, political, and economic standing. Because of increasingly apparent industrialization in contrast to neighboring nations (making them equivalent to a modern developed nation), Lucis has isolated itself from the rest of the world.

At one time, all other countries also possessed a crystal, but lost them due to fighting over them. They thus pooled their resources into weapons and warfare, granting them firearms along with swords and magic, becoming modern and advanced in only their military power, and in consequence, left regressive in their cultural and societal aspects, severely affecting their standards and quality of life. A cold war has gone on between Lucis and the rest of the world about the use and possession of the last crystal, but recently, a peace treaty was negotiated, ending the standoff. Under the guise of peace however, the kingdom of Niflheim breaks the treaty, conquering the nearby nations of Solheim, Tenebrae, and Accordo before attacking Lucis. During the chaos Noctis and his friends attempt to stop the seizure of Lucis's crystal before the affair escalates into a global war.

There exists a myth in the kingdom of Tenebrae about a goddess of death, the Goddess Etro, who is said to greet the souls of the deceased, and open the door to the afterlife. When the door opens, the released souls burst out in a streak of light that ascends to heaven. Few people are able to see the light, and those who can are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. Both Noctis and Stella have gained this power, and such power allows them to see and predict the death of individuals.

Playable Characters

 * Noctis Lucis Caelum - The main protagonist. A childhood affliction endowed Noctis, heir apparent to the throne of Lucis, with the mystical power to see a heavenly light, through which he could sense others’ deaths. Noctis rejects rigid royal conventions and acts as somewhat of a renegade, much to the dismay of those who tend to him. Yet while "Noct" may act brash at times, he does so in defense of those loyal to him.
 * Ignis Stupeo Scientia - Ever the unwavering voice of reason, Ignis was weaned on shrewd logic and a classical education from boyhood so that he might one day counsel the would-be king, Noctis. He applies the deep mutual understanding and trust they have built over time to help smooth over Noctis's brusqueness with others.
 * Gladiolus Amicitia - As lord of the noble House Amicitia, Gladiolus continues a line sworn to protect the crown. "Gladio" shares a friendship with Noctis that transcends birth and title, and his loyalty to his liege is born not of duty, but of brotherhood.
 * Prompto Argentum - The puckish playboy Prompto befriended Noctis in his school days. He wears a chip on his shoulder as an outsider to the royal circle, but remains eager to do all he can for the cause.
 * Cor Leonis - A living legend of Lucian lore, Lord Commander Cor Leonis's devotion to the art of war is surpassed only by that to his king. Little love is lost between the ill-starred stalwart and Noctis's retinue, yet honor binds him to keep watch over the group all the same.

Other Characters

 * Stella Nox Fleuret - A daughter of the Fleuret family of Tenebrae, she meets Noctis at a party. The two of them get into a tumultuous relationship. She was revealed to be one of the game's antagonists.
 * Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII - King of Lucis and the father of Noctis; he signed a peace treaty with the kingdom Niflheim, but it turned out to be a ruse to get close to the Lucian crystal.
 * Idola Eldercapt - The leader of Niflheim who is out to collect all the four crystals of the world by any means necessary.

Music
The music of Final Fantasy XV will be composed by Yoko Shimomura, who was also responsible for the soundtracks of the Kingdom Hearts series, Super Mario RPG, and the first Parasite Eve. She was also one of the composers for the critically-acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles.

The game's theme song, performed by Aundréa L. Hopkins, is titled "Somnus - Sleeping" (「somnus - 眠り -」), refers to the. The god is often depicted as a young man sleeping, which matches the game's logo art.

"Omnis Lacrima" is the second released track from the game. On May 26th, 2014 it was released as a bonus track from Yoko Shimomura's compilation album, memoria: The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura. "Omnis Lacrima" is Latin for "all the tears." Before its release, it was used as the music in three trailers for the game: the 2008 DKS3713 trailer, the 2011 Square Enix 1st Production Department Premier trailer, and the E3 2013 gameplay trailer.

2006-2009
Unveiled at E3 2006, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was said to be "not merely a sequel, but a wholly independent story unfolding in a different world with different characters." The game was going to be developed by the team responsible for the hit Kingdom Hearts series. Tetsuya Nomura would be the director and character designer, but not costume designer. Square Enix signed a contract with Japanese fashion brand "Roen" to promote their clothing designs in the game through different characters. Roen Creative Director Himuro Takahara serves as the game's costume designer.

In E3 2013 it was revealed Square Enix was thinking Final Fantasy Versus XIII could be made into Final Fantasy XV much earlier in the game's production than what was revealed to the public. Within the company, about one to two years after Versus XIII was announced, discussions were had on its scale and concept and the talks went on for several years.

2009
After nearly a year of silence, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was briefly shown at Tokyo Game Show 2009 in a private theater. It showed the game's first gameplay footage, though Nomura commented it was merely a technology test, and most footage would not be used in the final game. He said the clip was only made to prove the game was still well alive and in development.

At Jump Festa 2009 Noctis's new outfit was put on display. It had a more modern look with a jacket and pants, as opposed to his old outfit from past trailers.

2010
During an interview with Famitsu, Nomura stated he was unsure whether Versus would be shown at E3 2010. When E3 took place, the game was not shown.

On May 18, when asked by a Square Enix investor at a shareholders' meeting about a possible Xbox 360 port, president Yoichi Wada stated "We'll be looking into it internally until right before the formal announcement." After some backlash, he later clarified his original statement by saying on Twitter "It looks like the [inter]net is heating up. Versus on Xbox? What I said at the earnings press conference was just that until a formal announcement is made at the announcement time; all points about all titles are not finalized".

On June 23, new in-game screenshots and details about Final Fantasy Versus XIII were revealed, and it was confirmed the game would appear at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.

On June 29, an issue of Dengeki PlayStation stated Nomura and the fashion company Roen, assigned with creating the costumes for the characters, had completed all character designs and the scenario was finished as well.

On August 9, Nomura announced via Twitter that voice casting for Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII had begun along with other bits of news.

On August 25, Yoshinori Kitase announced, during an interview with GamingUnion.net, that Final Fantasy Versus XIII "may not be released until after 2011".

During the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix confirmed they planned to present Final Fantasy Versus XIII in their January 2011 conference, which was part of their Fabula Nova Crystallis conference.

On September 17, the 30 second trailer for the game had been leaked onto the Internet along with that for Final Fantasy Type-0. The footage contained Noctis in his new outfit briefly running through the areas shown in previously released screenshots. The trailer ended with Noctis fighting a Behemoth and there were instances of blood shown whenever Noctis slashed at it.

On October 8, the combined Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer from Tokyo Game Show was officially released on the Internet through the Japanese Square Enix Members website.

2011
On January 18, 2011, Square Enix held the 1st Production Department Premier. It was originally named the Fabula Nova Crystallis Conference and the original date was set on January 11. The event included new trailers and the announcement of the official release dates. Fans got to hear Noctis speak for the first time, along with the other characters. Besides Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the event featured new video content of Final Fantasy Type-0, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix, and other titles. Square Enix hinted at several new titles to be revealed at this event, such as Final Fantasy XIII-2.

On July 2011, in an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, it was revealed that Final Fantasy Versus XIII hadn't yet entered full production. He went on to say the date for the next showing of the game had been set.

In early August for the 500th issue of Dengeki PlayStation magazine, Nomura stated Final Fantasy Versus XIII would not be shown at Tokyo Game Show 2011 in September.

On August 31, 2011, a renewal for the trademark of Final Fantasy Versus XIII was filed by Square Enix.

On September 10, 2011 during the Final Fantasy XIII-2 fan meeting, producer Yoshinori Kitase was questioned about the development of Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. His answer was: "for Type-0 and Versus XIII we are giving 100% to development." Thanks to the knowledge and experience gained from developing Final Fantasy XIII, the team was able to create Final Fantasy XIII-2 in a shorter development time (about one and a half years), thus the reason why it would be released before Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

In 2011, developers began to hear about next-generation consoles, and the team decided to make Final Fantasy Versus XIII into Final Fantasy XV, but this was not public knowledge yet. While the game was rebranded, the ideas of having a different story from previous Final Fantasy games and an action-based battle system did not change. Nomura had to confirm this during talks of the game being rebranded as the next numbered Final Fantasy, but after being told it wouldn't be a problem, things went ahead as planned.

2012
On the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Nomura announced the game will be a mix between real-time cutscenes and pre-rendered cutscenes with a ratio of 7:3 (70% real-time and 30% pre-rendered). He stated the next time the game will be shown there would be a demonstration using real time footage. Nomura said working on Final Fantasy Versus XIII takes priority, in response to fans' requests for a Final Fantasy VII remake.

On July 24th, 2012, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada posted a tweet dismissing rumors that arose about the game being cancelled after a long period of media silence, also hinting its progress would surprise its fans, particularly in the game's city environments.

On September 1st, 2012, in the event of Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary, Tetsuya Nomura did a sketch of Noctis for the event. "Congratulations on the 25th anniversary. Please wait for his turn to appear".

On October 10th, 2012, Nomura said that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still in development and asked fans to wait for more detailed news regarding the game.

In 2012 it was decided all development would shift to next-generation consoles, and the name was officially changed into Final Fantasy XV within the company, although the public revelation of the re-branding would wait until E3 2013.

2013
On February 21st, 2013, GameSpot reported that Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said about Final Fantasy Versus XIII that "I have some knowledge, but I'm not in a position to talk about it".

On March 19th, 2013, VG Leaks reported that not only has production been halted because of the failure and subsequent rebuilding of Final Fantasy XIV, but that it has been moved to the PlayStation 4 and was being co-developed by Sony as a PlayStation 4 exclusive, and was reworked into Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix refused to comment on the rumor.

On April 17th, 2013, during the inaugural episode of Square Enix Merchandise Radio, Tetsuya Nomura spoke briefly about the game: "It's a delicate situation within the company. The date for our next reveal is set and we are working toward preparing information for that. Perhaps the details as to why information couldn't be released might be touched upon with the next information announcement".

During this time Nomura briefly envisioned making Final Fantasy XV into a musical after watching the 2012 film version of Les Miserables. He charged into the Square offices the next morning intent on transforming Final Fantasy XV but Square Enix convinced him to continue on the game's current trajectory.

During Sony's press conference at E3 on June 10, 2013, a prerecorded video of Tetsuya Nomura was played. In the video, Nomura acknowledged that not much information on the project had been released as of late, and that while he couldn't immediately share new details himself, new information on the game would be revealed in the coming days. Following the message, a new trailer for the game was shown, with the end of the trailer announcing the game has been renamed Final Fantasy XV, with development moved to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Square Enix's Final Fantasy brand director Shinji Hashimoto wouldn't comment on how close to completion Final Fantasy XV is.

2014
In February Yoshinori Kitase commented that the game was "quite far in development" and that the game was given a high priority within Square Enix. Final Fantasy XV is not being shown at E3 2014, but producer Shinji Hashimoto promised new information would be revealed some time after the event.

Development to different gaming platforms
At E3 2013 it was said that until a year before, the developers were making the game for current-generation consoles as well, but this was abandoned when it became clear next-generation consoles would have superior quality. Tetsuya Nomura commented that the way of developing games in general has changed and that before, when going multi-platform, a game would be fit to one console's specifications and would be evened out to other consoles, but Nomura said he didn't want to make a game that compromises quality. Using a different development method, Nomura chose not to look at consumer consoles to meet their specifications.

The shift in platform had several reasons. The lifespan of the current generation of consoles was starting to pose a problem, as if Square Enix was a year late entering the next generation, other companies would have had more time to research developing for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and releasing the game against their products on the older generation could have caused Square to look inferior. Nomura also thought they had hit the wall with the power offered by PlayStation 3 due to limitations of having a seamless world and simultaneously having all required actions always available in the memory; world map sized maps that can have elements on it change and be destroyed during battles, the myriad of weapons, party members' individual actions, magic spells, monsters on a large map, light sourcing, physics, filters and other graphical elements; and that to fully realize his vision they would need to shift the project to the next generation of consoles.

Square Enix is developing Final Fantasy XV on DirectX 11, which is not based on either the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One, letting the team develop full-spec without worrying about individual platforms, then port it to each console in the most appropriate way. The original Final Fantasy XV runs on a high-spec PC, and how close a console gets to the original depends on its specs. Nomura explains that the idea is to keep the options open in case a console comes out in the future that can recreate the original. It is the opposite approach from Square Enix's previous 'multiplatform' projects, which were based on the specs of a single console and then ported to other platforms. Nomura even mentioned the possibility of bringing Final Fantasy XV out on high-end PCs if there was ever enough demand.

Visuals and Art Direction
The modernistic art direction for Final Fantasy XV derives inspiration from real world locations, as opposed to the more fantasy-futuristic feel of Final Fantasy XIII. The cars driven in the game resemble modern cars rather than the various fantasy vehicles utilized in Final Fantasy XIII and the main characters' clothes are designed by the clothing brand Roen rather than being designed by Nomura himself. In its strive for a more corporeal-looking world, the style is somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy VIII, although darker and more monochromatic. While the beginning of the game takes place in a more contemporary setting, as the story progresses, the player will find various fantasy environments and atmospheres similar to what past titles like Final Fantasy VII did.

With the improved processing power of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the need for prerendered cutscenes is diminished and thus Final Fantasy XV is set to have fewer prerendered cutscenes than many of its main series predecessors. Director Tetsuya Nomura has commented that even in considerably dynamic scenes, the player will be in control of their character, and cited the scene where Leviathan is rioting through the city as an example.

Story
Tetsuya Nomura said that because he designed his game to have a modern setting and a story focused on human drama, he chose not to use the names in the mythos, such as "l'Cie", instead using the concepts behind the terms and not directly referring to the mythos as Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0 did.

Localization
The first titbit on Final Fantasy XV localization came on June 15 2013, days after the game was revealed at E3, when Jay Preston, a relatively unknown actor, announced he has received an unspecified part in the localization of Final Fantasy XV, suggesting the localization for the game was further along than previously thought. In February 2014 further details on the English voice acting surfaced, with voice actress Katy Townsend having listed "various" roles in the game as part of her resume. Townsend's resume lists Chris Borders as voice casting director, which indicates the game's voice work will be performed by world leading voice over production company TikiMan Productions, of which Borders is CEO. Soon after the news broke David Yang, Senior PR Manager Square Enix, has confirmed English voice casting has yet to begin for Final Fantasy XV. In a later update, Yang stated that voice acting for the final game had yet to begin in all languages.

Sequels
During E3 2013 it was also talked how Final Fantasy XV would likely have sequels.

However, in a later interview at Japan Expo 2013 Nomura was more cautious when talking of sequels.