Date played: April 6th
Platform: PS4
I got to play a little bit of Final Fantasy XV!
The demo is about Noctis, the hero, trying to escape from his dream. The demo begins with a young Noctis, maybe about 8 or 9 years old, who wakes up in a forest and meets an adorable little furry white creature named Carbuncle. Carbuncle acts as a guide, showing me how to play and leading the kid towards the objective.
There are a few things that stood out right away. First, there is a real jump, a dodge roll and a sprint, something that is unusual for an FF game. The music also attracted my attention quickly. It's very good and fits the mood very well. The graphics look really fucking good, but there is a stiffness to the animation that makes everything feel a little bit off. The framerate is also really iffy... It's too bad, because the lighting effects and the design in general is really good, so I hope they fix the framerate before launch.
The first area is really just a tutorial. I explored the forest, gathering crystals that must be some form of currency. On the ground, there were occasional pressure pads that could change the weather and time of day. Though I didn't find a use for them in game, it certainly looked pretty. I was introduced to combat, and it's a cool system that is easy to use. There is an attack button and a dodge button. There are four different attacks that can be assigned to the button, and they can be customized on the fly too.
After following Carbuncle through a mysterious ring, I reached the next area. This place was so weird... Noctis was shrunk down to the size of an action figure and had to explore a dining room. I navigated through the room, climbing gigantic chairs, driving toy cars and knocking over castles made from toy blocks. Surprisingly, there are real physics in this game too, I think that's never been done in the series.
The next area was a city where I got to play a bit more with combat, including a few spells. The spells have been powerful and fun to use, and they look really cool too. I fought some larger enemies here, but unfortunately, all the enemies have been super boring so far.
Finally, I got to fight my first boss, an iron giant. This fight was easily the best part of the whole demo. I had to dodge it's attacks and strike quickly. On top of that, it was the first time I got to play as adult Noctis, armed with real swords instead of the junk the kid was carrying.
After the boss battle, there was a bit of an epilogue. From what was shown, I understood that Noctis had been really close to his dad, but that he's gone now. He also seems to love his dad's car... Carbuncle led Noctis out of his dream and the demo ended. I really liked what I played, and it definitely got me more interested in the game, but I just hope they sort out the technical shit before release.
Platform: PS4
I got to play a little bit of Final Fantasy XV!
The demo is about Noctis, the hero, trying to escape from his dream. The demo begins with a young Noctis, maybe about 8 or 9 years old, who wakes up in a forest and meets an adorable little furry white creature named Carbuncle. Carbuncle acts as a guide, showing me how to play and leading the kid towards the objective.
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| Carbuncle protects Noctis from the Iron Giant boss |
The first area is really just a tutorial. I explored the forest, gathering crystals that must be some form of currency. On the ground, there were occasional pressure pads that could change the weather and time of day. Though I didn't find a use for them in game, it certainly looked pretty. I was introduced to combat, and it's a cool system that is easy to use. There is an attack button and a dodge button. There are four different attacks that can be assigned to the button, and they can be customized on the fly too.
After following Carbuncle through a mysterious ring, I reached the next area. This place was so weird... Noctis was shrunk down to the size of an action figure and had to explore a dining room. I navigated through the room, climbing gigantic chairs, driving toy cars and knocking over castles made from toy blocks. Surprisingly, there are real physics in this game too, I think that's never been done in the series.
The next area was a city where I got to play a bit more with combat, including a few spells. The spells have been powerful and fun to use, and they look really cool too. I fought some larger enemies here, but unfortunately, all the enemies have been super boring so far.
Finally, I got to fight my first boss, an iron giant. This fight was easily the best part of the whole demo. I had to dodge it's attacks and strike quickly. On top of that, it was the first time I got to play as adult Noctis, armed with real swords instead of the junk the kid was carrying.
After the boss battle, there was a bit of an epilogue. From what was shown, I understood that Noctis had been really close to his dad, but that he's gone now. He also seems to love his dad's car... Carbuncle led Noctis out of his dream and the demo ended. I really liked what I played, and it definitely got me more interested in the game, but I just hope they sort out the technical shit before release.
