Hajime Tabata on Final Fantasy 15’s finale and what comes next

From DLC to LARPing, Square Enix isn’t done with its blockbuster adventure just yet.

[-Foxtrot]

Just let it end...it should have been a complete game full of development and story at launch

When you need to give the big bad a DLC story episode to explain his character you know you have an issue.

[Spurg]

We get you're not a fan but people liked the story that was told. Everything that was promised outside of the game shouldnt be judged in the final game. You can only past judgment on the current games and DLC story not what they should or could have added.

[-Foxtrot]

So people like badly told stories...who knew

You judge the game based on what was launched, anything could be improved with that mentality

[Godmars290]

Issue with that is that story, by evidence of CG and regular anime movies, were things promised outside of the game. That as a fan you may be happy with what you got, but miss the fact that what you got came by way of three separate forms of media with added addendum besides.

Believe it or not, but that's a problem. One that is only getting worse across many mediums.

[thatguyhayat]

The story was clearly rushed. The dlc for the teams should have been in the game to begin with not separate dlc. It was a mess. If anything, i hope they learnt their lesson with this. And many forget that even tetsuya namura, the man himself that was taken off the project fired shots at the game too

[Godmars290]

"i hope they learnt their lesson with this."

wut...?

https://i.pinimg.com/origin...

...I mean, by now, really? How-how have they shown that they've learned anything, let alone not to over-promise grand things when starting a new gen? That's been PS2 with FF13 - it was originally a PS2 game - PS3 with FF15 when it was FF13vs, and it's likely going to be the case with FF7r which I'm betting will come out on the PS5 having been announced as a PS(3)4 game!

[rainslacker]

I can pass judgement when they leave a bulk of the story out of the actual story....including a rather large chunk of the story that passed between Noctis being entombed, and the finale. not to mention the few party members you had in the game just disappeared for a while, to just show up again, with little to no explanation that lasted more than a single line of dialogue, but if you wanted to know more, you could buy the DLC. Then we'll get into the $20 movie to explain the back story, which barely even talked about anything relevant to the story in the game itself, and really just set up some cursory motivations for the antagonists which if you hadn't watched the movie, you'd have no clue who they were, or why you were against them, or why Noctis needed to take revenge and all that.

On top of that, the actual story was pretty piss poor. FFXIII got raked through the coals for its story, but at least its story was cohesive and complete, although confusing at first since they just threw you into the middle of it without much explanation, with the only similarity to FFXV terrible story being a lack of apparent motivations for the antagonists.

So, yeah, I think it's safe to pass judgement on the current game and DLC story for what they were, and not worry about what they should or could have added, because all they added was a way to monetize an game that was released incomplete.

[Godmars290]

"Just let it end...it should have been a complete game full of development and story at launch "

ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...

oh wait, you're serious.

AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA...!

(This is Square Enix you're asking of their "Showcase" IP after all...)

[LegoIsAwesome]

Played it in the Royal Edition. Liked it a lot. 9/10 for me man. They should had just delayed the game and made the "Royal Edition" as the base game. Sucks for those who played it at launch. I understand the hate as my bro played it at launch and watched me played the Royal Ed and was frustrated as how the game is as of 2018.

Good thing I waited.

[ImportGamer3004]

I bought it day 1 and beat it only to realize the far better action rpg's released would be Tales of Berseria, and Nier Automata.

[Harkins1721]

Fans of XV wanted more from the game. Those fans didnt want the game to die. Yes it was 65% complete but ill pick up the final version when its complete.

[Ricegum]

Yep. If you're a fan of a series you should never wish something to "die". Was it disappointing for some? Of course. But they have done a good job since release, and you can pick up The Royal Edition and Windows Edition for £15. That's now an amazing amount of content for the price.

[rainslacker]

Sure, they did a good job since release. It's great for those that brought the Royal edition. But those of us who were dedicated enough to buy it closer to launch get rewarded with spending an extra $50 to get the whole story, and the back story.

To me, I'm only really forgiving of a game getting better over time if those improvements come in the form of free support for those that got screwed over if they brought early.

I'm a fan of Final Fantasy. But if FFXV died a horrible death, I'd be fine with that. Maybe it would show that releasing an incomplete game the way they did would not go over well with the fans. The fact they made more money off it because of them rushing out an incomplete game, and moving things over to DLC and a separate movie and anime series....which you also had to buy and had limited release worldwide....is just depressing, and to me, the fans who supported such practices are only setting themselves up to be fleeced in the future, or continue to be disappointed.

[CDbiggen]

Agreed. Possibly the most boring final fantasy ever.

[ImportGamer3004]

it'd could've been so much better.

[ImportGamer3004]

Nowadays when i watch the E3 2013 trailer on Youtube i cringe inside at how much Square effed up this game in its entirety from an incomplete story with plotholes that'll never be fixed cause the director feels it isn't important anymore to gameplay that looked so much better 3 years before the game was released but became a halfassed version of what it could potentially be.

Even Nier Automata has far better gameplay than FFXV, i wanted better out of the latest FF title only to be letdown.

[PhoenixUp]

“The four upcoming character-focused pieces of DLC for FF15 will tie a bow on the game, and thus the entire Final Fantasy 13-centric Fabula Nova Crystallis project, once and for all.”

Didn’t Hajime Tabata already say that he wanted to disconnect and distance Final Fantasy XV from Fabula Nova Chystallis?

[-Gespenst-]

That's not what was meant by that sentence. It's saying that once XV is done, it'll be the end of everything FNC related. XV was FNC related when it was originally announced.

Having said that though, there is a Type-0 sequel in the works, so the writer obviously isn't aware of that.

[Godmars290]

"Having said that though, there is a Type-0 sequel in the works, so the writer obviously isn't aware of that."

Or Tabata wasn't, given the nature of what FF and FNC is and has become.

[rainslacker]

I don't even think FNC knew what it was supposed to be when it was concocted, and I'd be hard pressed to find a description of it from SE, or many fans who understand what it was supposed to be.

It certainly isn't anything coherent now though. I'd prefer a Type-0 sequel to FFXIII, because FFXV really doesn't need or deserve a sequel, and at least FFXIII had an interesting mythology and world surrounding it before they threw all that out the window for Lightning Returns.

[Butters360]

NICE. Keep it coming. Definitely want to see Ardyn's story and more of Lunafreya. Hopefully we'll see more of Gladious, Ignis, Prompto taking care of Insomnia and the rest of Eos like King Noctis wanted.

[-Gespenst-]

Sounds like at least the Lunafreya and Noctis episodes might be related, and also that they are basically a what-if scenario where Noctis takes a different path and survives somehow. I'm willing to bet we'll see that famous Versus XIII scene where he defends the Citadel from the Empire.

[Butters360]

I don't think these are going to be what-if's. Ardyn's supposed to be about his being Chosen and then shunned by the Crystal. Luna's are suppposed to be her side of events leading up to her death. I definitely see them adding in Versus XIII stuff.

[-Gespenst-]

Have you read the synopses for them though?

[ShockUltraslash]

Better we get this opposed to the VIIRemake.

[Platformgamer]

final fantasy 15, day one edition, is one of the worst anal fucks in gaming history.
thanks to tabata i'll skip final fantasy 16 when it exists and of course i'll not buying tabata involved games

[Ricegum]

Good for you. You showed them.

[Sirk7x]

Yeah, once I learned that they'd be adding story I stopped playing within a week of buying it at launch, and it's still not finished. I've lost all interest. That, and they couldn't seem to make it seamless within the game.

[TheColbertinator]

Give us the Lunafreya DLC and we will call it a day.

[KSykes]

I would like to see unfinished areas like Tenebrae or Nifleheim. From the beginning I knew that it would be possible to play the other characters, that's why I want to see some new mechanisms. maybe a new turn-based mode.

[Sirk7x]

The game wasn't finished. Not even by a long shot. Having to leave the main game to play separated DLC missions is not fluid and takes away from the experience. If anything, when the game was finished, they should have found a way to piece it all together within the game to create a cohesive story and game. What a mess, I bought it on launch day and really wanted to enjoy it.

[Crakface]

Game didnt have enough magic, super attacks and summons. Key components to final fantasy and for that it was a failure in my eyes.

im really dissapointed the fans didnt press him about these key components. No new dlc spells. No END GAME MAGIC? Is this guy HIGH. F out my face

[rainslacker]

"Square Enix isn’t done with its blockbuster adventure just yet."

Well, I knew the original $60 game certainly wasn't done with the game itself. I mean, who would want a full game for their $60? Backstory in a $20 direct to DVD movie, which really had nothing to do with the game itself, side content of major characters who inexplicably leave your party mid-game in $10 DLC, added gear and perks through MT. Exactly what Final Fantasy needed to make it better if you ask me.

[stupidusername]

I bought it on launch and enjoyed it greatly, a solid 8/10. The story was a total mess though.
I’ve yet to play any of the dlc’s but I’m not tempted to give them any money. The way they’re telling the story is just conpletely ridicilous. First you need to watch a anime, then you need to watch the movie kingsglaive, then you play parts of the game while jumping in and out to play different dlc’s stories that’s not very well connected to the main game. What a mess.

I’d rather wish for them to put all the developers on FF 16 while focusing on making it a polished and complete game.

[ImportGamer3004]

Who cares as many of us have moved on, we hoped we'd get the badass gameplay, and a better story of the E3 2013 trailers, but far more improved and instead we got an incomplete game that still has yet to be finished because Squeenix wants to milk this game to death. Instead we got suckerpunched hoping this would fix the sour taste the FFXIII trilogy brought into our mouths but you made it worse.

[ImportGamer3004]

I'm more interested in the next Nier title and hope PlatinumGames develops it. They made Nier Automata into one of the best Action Rpg's of 2017 destroying FFXV in everyway possible from a complete story that connects together after multiple playthroughs to a fantastic battle system that also has brief shoot 'em up segments, and hacking segments.
Nier Automata is the ideal game to own moreso than FFXV.