More than a month after the release of the gameplay demo of “Final Fantasy XV,” developer Square Enix is now on a crossroad whether to balance out combat in the highly-anticipated role-playing video game or not, depending on feedback of gamers.
The developer could choose to overhaul the combat significantly or reduce the health of enemies or the severity of the Stasis effects, notes Gaming Bolt.
Although such would not determine the game’s quality, the decision would have a significant impact on the overall gameplay of “Final Fantasy XV.” But it won’t also hurt Square Enix not to focus too much on combat since the game itself is what gamers and enthusiasts have been waiting for in a long time.
Gameplay demo
Square Enix, released the gameplay demo of “Final Fantasy XV” called “Episode Duscae” on March 17 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
While the developer has yet to formally announce the release of “Final Fantasy XV” on the next-gen gaming consoles, game director Hajime Tabata said that the end is already in sight, which means that it will finally come to fruition very soon.
Latest word on the development of the widely anticipated video game is that it is more than 60% through. The gameplay demo “Episode Duscae” is also not complete but Square Enix will be using it for feedback in the remaining development stages of “Final Fantasy XV.”
Because Square Enix has been very open to gamer feedbacks, “Final Fantasy XV” is the only video game to date that has the most transparent and responsive development process, notes Tabata.
The game director said that he had jotted down and taken to heart the concerns raised by several gamers who have had the opportunity to play the gameplay demo as early as last month.
In particular, Tabata noted the uncanny slowing down or lag effect whenever a weapon strikes an enemy, and the need to speed up attack animations to make combat more seamless.
The gameplay demo features button map customization but Square Enix is opening it to fan or gamer feedback so that it can make the necessary adjustment as appropriate.
Cannot be made easy
“Episode Duscae” does not have any towns in it but there will be smaller facilities throughout the gameplay region including a gas station where hero Noctis must leave his car for repairs, among a few other establishments too.
Gamers also got the opportunity to face Chocobos in the field but they were not able to ride them in the gameplay demo. They can do so in the full game.
Tabata also said that combat cannot be simply made easy by spamming the evade button because attacks come from multiple directions and doing so would drain the players’ MP. He cited that there is an item however that enables the players to make some technical evasions without consuming MP but its implementation must be timed more precisely.
“Episode Duscae” is certainly a pared down version of the full game but it has been carefully developed to help the players explore the world and systems and be familiar with it.