After plenty of leaks and rumours, Square Enix announced it will release the 15
main Final Fantasy game on PS4 and Xbox One with a current release date of September 30, 2016.
The game was originally announced almost ten years ago at E3 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and was re-branded as Final Fantasy XV at E3 2013.
The developer also released a trailer, “Reclaim Your Throne”, on the official Final Fantasy XV YouTube channel, which introduced players to the gorgeous open-world environment in the game. The trailer features a modern rendition of an iconic song for the series, Stand By Me, which was re-imagined by Grammy-nominated Florence + The Machine.
“I’ve always seen Final Fantasy as mythical, beautiful and epic,” said Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine. “Stand by Me is one of the greatest songs probably of all time and you can’t really improve on it, you just have to make it your own. For me it was just about bringing the song into the world of Florence and the Machine and the world of Final Fantasy.”
Fans don’t have to wait until September to get a taste of Final Fantasy XV, as Square Enix has launched a “Platinum Demo” on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store. The demo is a free download, and contains exclusive content that won’t be featured in the main game. Players will control the game’s protagonist, Noctis, “as he masters various weapons, magic skills and driving,” according to Square Enix. Anyone that completes the demo will gain exclusive access to Carbuncle, a magical creature from previous Final Fantasy games.
Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy XV will come in three editions: standard, deluxe and ultimate collector’s edition.
The Deluxe Edition features steelbook packaging and bonus in-game content including a bonus outfit, a weapon, and a recolour for Noctis’ car. This edition will be available for $89.99.
The Ultimate Collector’s Edition will cost $269.99, and is exclusive to The Square Enix Online Store. This edition of the game will be limited to 30,000 units worldwide and feature a hardcover art book, a soundtrack, the entirety of the contents featured in the Deluxe Edition, four extra in-game item packs, and an exclusive figure of Noctis by Play Arts Kai. This edition of the game will also contain the exclusive sixth episode of the Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV animated series.
The Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV anime was also revealed during the Uncovered event. It will be a five episode story with an exclusive sixth episode in the Ultimate Collector’s Edition. The first episode of the series is available today.
On top of the anime, Square Enix revealed a trailer for a full-length CGI feature film focused on Noctis’ dad King Regis. The movie is titled Kinsglaive, and will release this year. It will feature the talents of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones actors, including Aaron Paul, Sean Bean and Lena Headley.
The Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event also debuted the first look at Justice Monsters Five, a mobile pinball game by Square Enix with RPG elements. The game will feature Noctis and some of the franchise’s most iconic monsters. It will launch this year for iOS, Android and Windows 10.
Final Fantasy XV will be available on PS4 and Xbox One on September 30, 2016. Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata said there are no current plans for a PC release.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to do simultaneous development on a PC and console version for XV. We had to focus on the console version and our goal was to maximize, optimize everything for the HD consoles. Once that’s done, then we will definitely take a good, hard look at PC and what we need to do, and consider all our options. But right now we aren’t decided, we’re still considering a lot of things,” Tabata told Engadget.
