To date, Final Fantasy XV has been in development for nearly a decade, and with the release of the game’s first official demo Episode Duscae this year, it seemed like the game would be getting a release date soon. Square-Enix used this year’s E3 conference to announce the remake of Final Fantasy VII, but there was no news on where FFXV was in development. Gamescom is another story, but the information about FFXV wasn’t quite the major announcement fans were hoping for. While there wasn’t a release date announced, a new trailer was shown and the game’s director Hajime Tabata did reveal that a release date is in view.
In addition to teasing a release date announcement sometime in the near future, plenty of new information was released about the game. The game’s story revolves around Noctis, a prince of the kingdom of Lucis, whose kingdom is betrayed when the army of Nifelheim invades Lucis and takes the throne and the kingdom’s crystal. Noctis and his three friends begin a quest to restore the kingdom. From the trailer, it’s clear that this is a game in which human relationships play a vital role.
The game’s primary antagonist wasn’t revealed yet, but we do know that it’s a man that Square-Enix believes is the baddest villain yet to be featured in a Final Fantasy game. This will undoubtedly have fans speculating on what could make this villain worse than their favorite villains of the past.
Lunafreya, the woman Noctis was meant to marry to seal the treaty between Lucis and Nifelheim, is promised to be a strong female character who will play a central role in the game’s storyline. Another female character with long black hair and bangs, who remains as yet unnamed, will be featured in the game as well.
The “Dawn” trailer also shows three large figures hidden by mist behind a large building, but we don’t know yet what they are. Tabata did confirm that they aren’t the Eidoions that Noctis will be able to summon during battles.
Though there isn’t a release date, it looks like there will be another playable demo of the game that will be released sometime in the near future. And Square-Enix is gearing up for promotion of the game, beginning with PAX Prime later on in August. Perhaps they’ll make a release date announcement then.
Tom is a gamer, blogger, article writer, storyteller, and screenwriter who also teaches writing for a living as a high school English teacher.