Every year in the Seattle Convention Center, at the end of August or the beginning of September, thousands of gamers gather at a huge gaming convention known as PAX Prime. During PAX Prime 2015, Square Enix had their Final Fantasy XV team hold a special session of its Active Time Report. The two speakers revealed a lot about the development process as well as a possible release date for the long-awaited Final Fantasy XV.
According to Tom's Hardware, the two speakers were the game's director, Hajime Tabata and the marketing manager, Akio Ofuji. Tabata was showing a lot of fans certain portions of Final Fantasy XV that were still works in progress including concept art and even some video clips. It should be noted that the artwork and the final product of the game look very near identical.
Some of the newly revealed gameplay was related to the Regalia, a car used by Noctis. Players had a chance to get to know Noctis and the Regalia with Episode Duscae, a demo of Final Fantasy XV that was distributed with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD in the form of a voucher code. It was revealed that the player can choose between two modes with the Regalia including auto or manual. The player can also choose from one of four views: driver, joyride, tail, and scenic. The car is fueled by gasoline, so keep in mind that it can run out of fuel.
The Final Fantasy gaming franchise has its own mythology, and it would be very complicated to even begin explaining it all. The world of Final Fantasy takes place on some modern-day setting, yet there is this medieval influence to it. According to IGN.com, the story of Final Fantasy 15 will have Noctis Lucis Caelum, a prince of a dynasty that rules a city state, with the last remaining crystal. This crystal is stolen by an invading nation known as Niflheim, and this starts a world war as every nation wants this crystal for themselves.
Final Fantasy is known for its characters, and in addition to Noctis, there will be some interesting ones joining Noctis on his mission in Final Fantasy XV. There will be a military tactician Ignis Scienta, who fights with a katana blade. Another is melee fighter Gladiolus Amicitia, gun-wielding Prompto Argentum, and head of the Royal Family Guards Cor Leonis. Noctis and his friends will be joined by another character who is shrouded in mystery named Stella Nox Fleuret, who fights with her rapier. There have been a lot of rumors that classic Final Fantasy characters could be making a comeback in this version of the game.
As far as the gameplay is concerned for Final Fantasy XV, it will focus more on action rather than the traditional turn-based or active time battle system that is associated with Final Fantasy. Instead, it will be comparable to the fighting in Kingdom Hearts. Characters will have an open world map and can travel in vehicles.
Of course the big question and the initial topic at PAX Prime 2015 is the game's release date. Ever since Gamescom, there have been rumors that Final Fantasy XV wouldn't surface until 2017. Tabata didn't refute that rumor, but he did say that he would "not be pleased" if Final Fantasy XV arrived in 2017. Square Enix certainly is not happy, and Tabata confirmed that the game would be arriving some time in 2016. Apparently the exact release date of Final Fantasy XV will not be released until March 2016 at a special event.
