Game Informer has a huge Final Fantasy XV cover story in this month’s issue and the folks over at NeoGaf have already provided a handy synopsis of all of the latest information for our reading pleasure. New details on the game’s plot, quest system, opening chapter, combat, weapons, crafting and more were revealed in this lengthy post by user Philippo. There’s lots of ground to cover, perhaps more ground to cover than Notcus and crew did when hunting down that Behemoth in Episode Duscae! So why don’t we jump right In?
Final Fantasy XV will have a number of different weapon types available, not just the ones we’ve seen in the Platinum Demo and Episode Duscae. Swords, shields, lances, firearms and an unrevealed “machine” class of weaponry make up the weapon classes revealed thus far. The weapons your party members use can be crafted and upgraded during the story with materials that you find in battle.
Each member of your party has their own “special talent” which can impact gameplay and adds character growth / development. Noctus can learn how to fish, Ignis can learn how to cook, Prompto can become killed with a camera and Gladiolus can learn how to hone his survival instincts.
Remember the opening scene the starts off Episode Duscase with the groups car, the Regalia, breaking down? That is actually the beginning of the game’s opening chapter – but unlike Duscae there is no hunt for the Behmoth! Speaking of the Regalia, its trunk is used as an extended inventory for the entire party.
Currently the devs at Square Enix have designed over 200 quests into the games but are working on more. Right now there are four different kinds of quests in the game – Main scenario, side quests (think Chocobos, fishing etc.), regional quests and monster hunts. You won’t be tripping over quests – the GI article specifically mentions that FFXV doesn’t have as much questing as other open world games like The Witcher III or Skyrim but that the quests that do exist in the game feel like they carry real weight, they aren’t insignificant.
There are tons of juicy story tidbits that I just don’t want to spoil in this news post, go ahead and read them for yourself if you don’t mind minor story spoilers. Surprisingly the game also has an Episode 0 prequel chapter but Game Informer wasn’t allowed to play it during their preview session.
Final Fantasy XV releases on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 30th.