Square Enix showed off a new trailer and info on Final Fantasy 15 over the weekend, showcasing a revamped battle system, stealthy base infiltration and the use of magic. It shows hero Noctis and his party sneaking into a Niflheim military base filled with soldiers and Magitek tanks that look like something out of Metal Gear Solid 5 rather than the Final Fantasy that most people recognise.
To avoid detection from giant spotlights, Noctis can duck behind cover or warp to a new location. He can even perform stealthy takedowns, a bit like those in Assassin’s Creed, by using a ‘Warp Kill’ move with his sword. You can also take over gun turrets to shoot at any enemies in the field below, and fire magic will affect the environment (in this case lighting flammable oil destroyed some Magitek armour and part of the base).
All these mainstream additions such as stealth etc are making FF15 feel a lot more like a Metal Gear Solid or Far Cry game rather than anything a typical Final Fantasy fan is used to. It makes sense as the game is trying to appeal to a more Western audience, but, personally, it has me worried. It feels like Square is trying too hard to do too many things at once and that the spirit of FF adventure is being diluted in the process.
In last years Duscae demo there was a stealth section where you had to sneak up on a Behemoth in the mist to track where he went. It was the weakest moment in the demo and felt incredibly scripted, so to see the same principles extended into larger parts of the game feels like a very odd choice. Then again the combat has been completely redone since we last saw it in the demo as the team have taken on a lot of feedback from players, so perhaps they’ve done the same with the sneaking sections.
More details and a release date for later this year are set to be announced at an event on March 30th in Los Angeles. (Update: This article previously and incorrectly stated the event was in Las Vegas. We apologize for the error.)
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