Much has been shown of Final Fantasy XV's open-world as protagonist Noctis and his friends journey around the countryside in a car that can also transform into a jet. Square Enix loves to show off the game's massive world, one filled with monsters big and small and a variety of activities for players to participate in.
Now comes news that the game's open-world is only half of the experience. According to a new interview with Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (via Silicon Era), it's only the first half of Final Fantasy XV that is open-world, while the second half is linear.
"As for Final Fantasy XV's structure, it has both an open-world part and a linear part," Tabata says. "The open-world [element] continues throughout the first half, and because of the story, the second half progresses linearly."
Tabata goes on to explain the reasoning behind the decision.
"If you do it like that, then you won't get tired of the open-world, and as the whole game becomes more focused, you can enjoy a traditionally Final Fantasy-style progression."
In that way, it's a move that is the polar opposite of the poorly-received Final Fantasy XIII, which saw players play more than halfway through the game before revealing an explorable, open-world environment. At least in this way, Square Enix seems to have learned from past mistakes, but Final Fantasy XV's inversion of that pattern is still certain to catch more than a few fans off guard.
As stated above, Square Enix has made it seem as if Final Fantasy XV's main attraction is its open-world adventure. If that free-roaming exploration only lasts for half of the game's run-time, some players may feel misled. However, perhaps there isn't too much to worry about. Tabata says the game's main story lasts anywhere from 40 to 50 hours, so that should still give players plenty of time to explore the open world Tabata and his team have built. Just do so knowing it won't be around forever.
After a last-minute two-month delay, Final Fantasy XV is now scheduled to release on Nov. 29. The delay was was done in order to avoid a day one patch for the game, ensuring offline gamers could have an optimal experience.
