Final Fantasy XV Hands-On Preview

I’ve been a big Final Fantasy fan for years and it’s no secret that the franchise needed to be revitalised. Enter Final Fantasy XV. When this game was first revealed it had my attention immediately, with a beautiful world and a combat system that, at first glance, looked like it had been through a major overhaul.

Finally, at EGX this year, I got some hands on time and I can say I was really impressed. The demo opens with our heroes wandering around a gas station, prepping their car for the journey ahead. Initially, I just stood there and listened to the characters interact with each other because one of my worries going into this game was whether or not I was going to be able to feel for this group and care about them for 50+ hours. Now I can say my worries have been put to rest.

After the prep was done we hit the beautiful road. The polished vistas the game had to offer in those few moments after the car pulled off were stunning. I was amazed at the level of detail of that desert road and the creatures that where wandering on a nearby hill side. It wasn’t long, though, before one of those said creatures had wandered into the road and blocked our way, so ,we pulled over and prepared for battle.

For the record, I have never had an issue with the Final Fantasy trademark turn-based combat system and, for a moment I was fully expecting to hear the battle music I’ve heard a million times before but that wasn’t the case. We leapt out the car, I saw a meter fill and a second later I’d hit the beast with a strong teleportation strike knocking it off its feet. The rest of the party then got to work with bringing this creature down. The combat feels fluid and the interaction between the characters seems to flow nicely with its pace. The action does really feel fluid and the group work well together with an interesting array of attacks to tackle any foe that stands in their way.  I did push deeper into the world, running into some rather strong beasts and the game quickly reminded me that the grind present in Final Fantasy games from days gone by remains fully ebedded in this new instalment.

The twenty five minute demo came to close after a mini boss battle further down the road and I was left wanting to play a lot more in the games rich world. Granted we have been told that the game will become more linear in the later stages but the open nature of the first parts will no doubt hook me in until its conclusion. I am looking forward to Final Fantasy XV and cant wait until it launches this Decmeber. If you’ve been waiting for a strong return to this franchise then I believe you will be presently surprised by the adventure this game will take you on.

David J Birch

@Remedylive