Final Fantasy XV: A Discussion

by Andrew Brennan · Published November 29, 2016 · Updated November 29, 2016

At E3 2006 Final Fantasy XV was shown off for the very first time, however back then it was known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII and it was set to release on the then upcoming PS3 console. Yet here we are now, ten years have passed and the game is launching today on PS4 and Xbox One. Funny how things change.

Final Fantasy XV is a game that I certainly hope will live up to my own expectations. It was one of the games I bought a PS3 for. I was looking forward to it far more than I was looking forward to Final Fantasy XIII. I consider myself a huge fan of the franchise, I have played every numbered entry and a good chunk of the sequels/spin-offs. The E3 2006 conference seemed like a dream come true, Square-Enix announcing several new Final Fantasy games based upon a shared mythos. At the time I thought they would release within a year or two of each other, sadly I was very, very wrong.

When Final Fantasy XIII released four year after it’s announcement to generally favourable reviews. I did not share the sentiment, however. XIII did absolutely nothing for me, it didn’t even feel like a Final Fantasy game. Coming off the brilliant Final Fantasy XII, this was a huge disappointment to me (so much so that I didn’t even bother with the direct sequels). My mind was at ease though because I was under the belief that the Tetsuya Nomura helmed Versus XIII would be releasing within a year or two of XIII. Boy, was I wrong.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was in a constant start-stop development, it seemed everything else was a priority for Square. It was reported that even after 6 years development, the game was only 20-25% complete. Production finally moved forward when Hajime Tabata was added as a co-director. Eventually Nomura would be moved to other projects and Tabata took up full directorial duties.

Due to the extraordinarily prolonged development cycle Tabata considers Versus XIII and XV two separate entities. With this in mind, I know that the game I will be playing soon enough is not the one that I expected all those years ago. Going back now and looking at the original trailer is like looking at an alternate reality version of the game.

From what I’ve seen so far, Final Fantasy XV is looking to be a return to form for a series that had lost it’s way. I will post my full thoughts on the game after completion.