Square Enix has revealed that players will be able to travel seamlessly across Final Fantasy XV‘s gigantic open-world, as the in-game universe is one continuous stretch of land.
But rather than sticking with the fantastical, Game Director Hajime Tabata also touched upon how the locales within the upcoming RPG sequel will draw architectural inspiration from real-world locations.
“The towns and the cultural references that you see throughout the world, you’ll get a sense of realistic towns and cultures,” Tabata said. “That’s one aspect that has remained since the title was first named Versus XIII.
“The first town that was showcased was based on Shinjuku in Japan, and one area we showed in December [in the most recent trailer] was based on Havana in Cuba,” he explained. “And the other watery town we showed is based on Venice. So those are some cultural references that have been made within the game.”
Essentially, this approach to game design bears semblance to the likes of Skyrim and the Grand Theft Auto series, where players are given free reign to travel in any which way they please without their journey being stunted by loading screens. For all the talk of realism, Tabata was quick to assure fans that XV is still very much a Final Fantasy title through and through, with challenging dungeons and mayhaps even airships making an appearance.
“To be completely honest, that’s still to be determined,” Tabata said of airships.
“But the development team does understand that this is something everyone is looking forward to. It is a huge technical challenge; as mentioned earlier, all areas are connected. We are trying to tackle that challenge.”
Those eager to take Final Fantasy XV out for spin will be pleased to note that a playable demo will be included in copies of the upcoming remaster Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. It’s worth noting that this will be the only means of accessing the early build, as Square has no plans to release the demo as a standalone product.
Final Fantasy XV is still without a concrete release date, though all signs point to Square Enix debuting the next chapter in the illustrious RPG franchise later in 2015.