This weekend takes place PAX Eastwith a strong presence of Square Enix since two panels dedicated to FFXIV et Final Fantasy XVI were organized there. It is the latter that interests us, entitled “Yes, You Can Pet the Torgal”, because it was rich in novelties, especially for the public.since the pre-recorded videos that were shown there were part of the presentation we had during the preview event in London last February, enough to give more context to our remarks to be found via the link at the end of the article. Of gameplay live was also shown, which was completely new to him! On the other hand, with the technical problems of the stream on Twitchthe fans had reason to be annoyed… Fortunately, the video archive has since been put online.
Valiszea… It’s a land blessed by crystals.
The people living in Valiszea gather under the sole protection of the “Mother Crystal”, create magic with ether, and make their daily lives.“Final Fantasy XVI”
????Reservation accepted????https://t.co/6BciWXOhuV #FF16 pic.twitter.com/w24BRw0PA4— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@FF16_JP) March 26, 2023
If you dreamed of seeing the variety of scenery in Valisthéathe video of the day is therefore enough to impress, Clive crossing many environments on foot or on the back of Chocobohis adventure spanning as a reminder from his adolescence to his thirties (to be reviewed via the panel from 3:50 p.m. to 5:35 p.m.). The four pillars of the game as its narration, characters, fights and visuals were also entitled to a dedicated sequence (from 11:20 a.m. to 1:14 p.m.), where you can notably see the difference in size between Ifrit et Titan. Another passage (from 24:43 to 25:52) highlighted the skills of Primordials what can be used Clive in combat, all through combos as powerful as they are visually dazzling.
Following that, Naoki Yoshida and Michael-Christopher Koji Fox answered the burning questions that gamers have in the wake of the previewsfocusing first on the fact that the demo that had been made available to us was dark, since it took place at night (you can see the sequences on the next page, shared by Gematsu). Well, just because the area of Fort-Norvent serving to make us discover the combat system was one of the most finalized (and not spoiled probably not too much).
To prove, if need be, that the game will not be plunged into darkness, of gameplay live was therefore offered, from 30:18 to 39:39, in an open area that the team calls a “field”contrary to that of the event which was an “internship”. FFXVI is not an open world and this desert environment of the Republic of Dalmequia is regarding 2 km², where are notably present ruins of an ancient civilization called Fallendating from 1,500 years ago. We therefore find there Clive along with Talgor et Jill Warrickwhich will therefore cross the Boklad market looking for a certain Goetz. Because of spoilersthe progress was quickly halted, giving us the opportunity to see the world map, where areas that can be visited will be added as we progress through the story. It was also an opportunity to see that the loading times during fast travel will be quite short, all while the game’s performance mode was set to “Frame Rate”, ensuring a priori 60 fps, the other being “Graphics” for players wanting 4K at 30 fps.
The presentation continued with an overview of the lair of Cidcalled Hideaway in English, a sort of hub where we can return throughout the adventurewith the presence of shops like that of Charon, selling weapons, accessories and consumable items such as potions. A blacksmith will improve our weapons in exchange for materials or crfollowing once more. The green icons will indicate that the NPCs have side quests to offer us. Less conventional, especially for a Final Fantasy, the Pierre d’Arete will be used to access a training zone, a mode Arcade with some leaderboards and to replay the “stages” of the adventure.
About QTEnot all combat sequences will have one. Besides, neither Yoshi-P neither Hiroshi Takai appreciate when this kind of command is too complex. However, the team has integrated some in order toinvolve the player dynamically during certain cutscenes serving to make the link between the different phases of a confrontation (transformation of a boss, modification of the decor, etc.) rather than leaving us in front of a cutscene without doing anything. Ces QTE will be of three types: Assault (Carré), Escape (R1) et Clash (hammer Carré). On the other hand, even if the transition will be impacted by the success or otherwise of these actions, no game over cannot take place if we miss one.
The accessories (Timely Accessories) allowing even players not very good with action games to enjoy FFXVI were then presentedgameplay in support from 47:51 to 58:53 in the zone of Corava Fields, two of the five available can be equipped at once as a booster. Moreover, the mode Arcade mentioned above will take this equipment into account in the score obtained, while icons at the top of the screen will show which accessories are equipped, which adds a bit of transparency during streams !
And as the panel posed the question of whether or not to caress Talgor / Torgalthe answer was shown, with the bonus of a big giggle due to the fact that Naoki Yoshida missed and then gave a swing with his sword, which obviously did not hit the animal, phew! Finally, it was recalled that the clashes between Primordials will all be different and that of preview event in between Garuda et Ifrit was one of the first, acting as a kind of tutorial. A video (from 1:00:27 to 1:02:17) was then broadcast to give some examples, confirming in passing the presence of Typhonwhich does not look like what we are used to, with in particular the phase of shoot’em up with Phoenix et another pass in front of Titan then called “misplaced” (“lost” in English), even more gigantic than its basic transformation. As for the role-playing elements, they will be covered in Aprilso the wait for more information won’t be long.
Incidentally, the issue of lifespan had been addressed in an interview by Famitsuwhich was translated as @aitaikimochi. Hiroshi Takai thus declared thatit will take regarding 35 hours to complete the adventure and more than double taking into account the additional content, since he then speaks of 70 to 80 hours. And New Game+ called fashion Final Fantasy will allow us to keep our statistics while restarting the adventure, enough to keep the players busy. A demo of the game should be made available to players two weeks before launch. to raise the hype.
Three short gameplay footage has otherwise been uploaded recently on the Japanese side of the game, to enjoy below:
Introducing Torgal, the main character Clive’s partner ???? Part 1
In battle, you can give orders to Torgal and fight together. Combinations that match Clive’s attacks are also possible!“Final Fantasy XVI”
????Reservation accepted????https://t.co/6BciWXOPkt #FF16 pic.twitter.com/iwELDr6S6n— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@FF16_JP) March 21, 2023
Final Fantasy XVI will be released on June 22, 2023 on PS5 and you can pre-order it to the Fnac at a price of €74.99 with 10 € which will be credited to your loyalty account.
Read also: PREVIEW Final Fantasy XVI: We crossed swords with Garuda and unleashed the flames of Ifrit!