The Final Fantasy XV Uncovered Event Wrap-Up
Last month Square Enix announced that the release date for Final Fantasy XV event will be revealed at their March Uncovered event. The release date ended up getting leaked a little over a week ago, but that didn't take away from the importance of the even. Just an hour ago the event ended and now while I've had to time to cool down and recollect on the information let's discuss everything that this event revealed.
This event was hosted by IGN's Greg Miller and Tim Getty of IGN and the duo provided some energy and contrast to the event. Tim is a major fan of the series while Greg is familiar and have played some games, didn't really care for the games that much, but XV has caught his attention. Their dynamic made what usually would be pretty stale, entertaining and attention grabbing, though I felt on some occasions Greg Miller talked a bit too much and interrupted other speakers while they were speaking.
First of all, the reveals of Final Fantasy series legends Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu. I couldn't make out most of what was pertaining to Sakaguchi because I had just tuned in and my internet was going out on me, but his presence there made me ecstatic. I assume his presence was just to respect his contribution to the series and he didn't have any part in development much like they did with the video of Nobuo Uematsu. The regards to these two legends signified to me that this game is aiming for the same awe and wonder the games gave me back in the PlayStation 1 era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCKmmdJGCEA
The first stunner of the night was the Reclaim Your Throne trailer. This trailer gave us insight on new plot points and gameplay. Noctis shows off a shield weapon when he blocks a blow from an Iron Giant and the segment of Noctis running atop a train and assaulting a distant soldier on an airship was eye catching. The shot of Luna standing unflinching before an angry Leviathan while holding a spear was a great shot. The trailer switched from a tense tone to a relaxed one when the cover of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" performed by Florence and the Machine came on. The aforementioned artist also got a video that detailed her process making the cover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZYNC4JZ_2c
A locations trailer focused on the locales of XV, from forests, cities, canyons, and caves. The lighting is well done and the rain effects in the Venice inspired Arlissia are gorgeous.
Two of the most unexpected announcements were the Final Fantasy anime Brotherhood and the movie, Final Fantasy XV Kingsglaive. The anime will be free to watch on the Final Fantasy XV YouTube page while Kingsglaive will be available to purchase for Blu-ray before the game comes out.
Final Fantasy XV was also revealed to have two collector's editions: the Deluxe edition and the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Both come with packaged DLC, the game's soundtrack, Kingsglaive movie and special cases, but the Ultimate editions features a Noctis statue, an artbook, the XV Brotherhood anime on disc, and some extra DLC.
What was sort of brushed over in the event was that Square Enix has made a model of the game's car, but they stated it won't be available for purchase and left how a fan can get it as a mystery.
As mentioned earlier, the release date did get leaked, but the handling of it within the event was done particularly well with the slot machine motif that featured FFVI sprites of the XV characters and it even had me for a second when the slot stopped at November 2016. We'll be seeing this game on September 30th of this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baRvmc6yKWA
Hajime Tabata closed the night out with a final trailer, this one expanding on the Reclaim Your Throne trailer with the surprises of a steerable boat and most importantly a car that can fly.
