Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae Impressions

So, Square Enix has finally released Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and bundled the Final Fantasy XV demo with it. Finally, fans will get a chance to play a game that's been in development since around 2006, nearly a decade ago. Of course, being an action RPG (and merely existing after the Final Fantasy XIII era), fans are skeptical as to whether this game will be worth playing. I can definitely say that from what I've played in the demo so far, Final Fantasy XV looks to be very promising. You can check out some of my gameplay footage here.

Premise, Characters, Voices, and Soundtrack 

You're basically dumped into a large region called the Duscae region. Noctis's car has broken down, and you need to raise the funds to get it fixed. How do you go about raising these funds? By finding and killing a FREAKING BEHEMOTH, of course. Beyond that, you're basically allowed to explore wherever you want within the region, and you're given simple sidequests to get some extra EXP. 

Right away, you can tell there's a close bond between Noctis and his friends. They all have friendly banter when roaming the fields or in battle. For the most part, the characters seem pretty charming, though there's not enough story based info to make a real judgement yet. The voice acting seems to be decent. My only real issue is how deep Noctis sounds in contrast to his appearance. Other than that, the voice actors have done a good job so far. 

The music is also quite nice. The battle theme sticks out to me the most so far; it's epic and catchy. On a more minor note, they've brought back the classic Final Fantasy victory jingle, which was missing from XIII and XIII-2 (though it WAS present in Lightning Returns, I believe). 

Gameplay 

The gameplay is definitely the most interesting part so far. In combat, the Square button is your main means of attack. Depending on what weapons you equip to what "combo part", Noctis will attack somewhat differently. This allows you to choose if your main combo will consist of quick, weak strikes, or slow, powerful attacks with a greatsword. All defense is handled with L1. When you hold L1 down, your MP will slowly start to drain, and Noctis will dodge any attack thrown at him at the cost of some more MP. While in this defense mode, you can also parry enemy attacks when an icon for that appears.

Noctis also comes with several different skills, similar to Artes from the Tales series. These skills are cycled through using the D-Pad, and executed with Triangle. They also cost MP to use, and have a wide range of effects. I personally found Drain Blade to be the most helpful in surviving, as it absorbs some enemy HP to restore your own. Holding R1 and pressing X will allow Noctis to warp to an enemy that you're locked on to and attack at the cost of some MP. This is great for catching up with the faster enemies. When not in defense mode, your MP will slowly regenerate. 

If any of your party members reach 0 HP, they enter an injured state where they can only limp away from the enemy. If they're hit again while injured, their maximum HP will temporarily decrease. Rescuing injured party members with the X button will restore some HP and allow them to continue fighting. This also applies to Noctis. You can also use Potions to restore lost max HP as well. 

When you find campsites, you can choose to rest for the night. Resting for the night will restore your party's HP completely, confer buffs depending on the dish that is cooked at camp, and also allows the EXP your party has gained to take effect. You gain EXP by defeating enemies and completing sidequests, but you don't level up until you reach a campsite and rest for the night.

Overall, the combat takes a while to get used to, but it's fun. The only issues I really have are that you can't really cancel your attacks to dodge something, and that enemies can take quite a beating before going down. Other than that, Final Fantasy XV is shaping up to be a solid entry to the series. The demo itself is stated to be around 3-4 hours long, and there's most likely more to do for those who want to squeeze every last drop of gameplay possible from this demo. I enjoyed Episode Duscae, and I really look forward to the full game when it finally releases.