Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV Thoughts

©Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Player(s): 1

Amidst the plethora of amazing announcements surrounding the Final Fantasy XV Universe lately, there may have been one that slipped by: the demo. As is becoming a relative trend with Square-Enix lately, the new demo for Final Fantasy XV is actually an independent story from the main game. This was also done with Bravely Default and Bravely Second (both on the 3DS).

This story follows the story of a young Noctis (the protagonist of the main game) as he falls into a dream. There isn’t much substance to the story, as it’s there to fuel the progression and to give context to the events, nothing more. Noctis seems to be trapped within the dream, and must follow the guidance of his friend the carbuncle in order to try and escape from the dream.

©Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

Based on this, you traverse through four different landscapes as you work towards you eventual escape. The first, focuses on easing you into the navigation and combat. Nothing is pushed on you, and you are able to get a good feel for how to progress through this. The second focuses mostly on exploration, throwing you into an open area with some minor resistance along the way. From here, you can progress straight to the objective point or just enjoy checking everything out. The next section involves a city scape, which focuses more on combat with exploration being on the side. Here, you get to try out some new toys. In the final area, you get a little surprise along with an exciting boss battle. This battle helps to give an example of how to use one of the more advanced abilities: warping. You’ll find that the combat plays similar to Kingdom Hearts, in that it’s action rather than turn-based.

As you play the demo, you can collect crystals, which allow you to unlock functionality from various plates that are strewn about the environment. Many of the plates are merely there to help show off the various effects of the game engine (such as changing weather or changing the time of day on the fly). There also weapon unlocks (toys) and a few transformations. Upon completion of the demo, you are given the opportunity to name the carbuncle. The carbuncle will then transfer to the final game when it releases, though to what end we do not currently know.

©Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

Though the demo is only about 30-60 minutes long, it does a really fantastic job of giving you an idea of what to expect from a gameplay and an aesthetic standpoint. Even though it may not be as refined as a full game (it IS a demo after all), it succeeds in its task: enticing the player and piquing interest. Platinum Demo is available for download on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Final Fantasy X was the last time I was truly excited for a new Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy XV has helped to change that immensely. I couldn’t be more excited. Stay tuned for more information involving the Final Fantasy XV Universe.

Platinum Demo is available for download on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Final Fantasy XV is set to release on September 30, 2016 on both consoles.

- Teepu

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Screenshot Gallery

NOTE: All thoughts and screenshots are gathered from playing the PlayStation 4 version.

Official Final Fantasy XV Site: http://www.finalfantasyxv.com/
Official Square-Enix Site: http://na.square-enix.com/us/hom