Final Fantasy XV might not be as open-world as you think

MANILA, Philippines – In a recent interview published by Japanese magazine, Famitsu, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata revealed that the open-world setting of the game will narrow down to a linear path halfway through.

This may not be much of a surprise for those who have followed the game’s development since its debut trailer. Back in January, Tabata already shared that the game is not purely open-world. “How the story is handled, it’s not 100% pure open-world, but it’s also not a pull-along-the-rails kind of story. It’s very much a hybrid of those two styles, which I think is the best of both of them,” he stated.

But the aforementioned Famitsu piece, translated by Siliconera, elaborates on how the hybrid style will work exactly.

“The first half keeps going as an open-world, but the story in the second half is led by a linear path.” he stated.

“That way, you won’t get bored of an open-world as the rest of the game tightens, so we made it in a way that you’ll also get to advance through it as you have in conventional Final Fantasy games. If you play through the first half and only the main route of the second half, I believe the estimated play time sits at around 40 to 50 hours,” Tabata elaborated.

The hybrid world of Final Fantasy XV is slightly similar to Final Fantasy XIII’s (2009). Final Fantasy XIII, was not a purely open-world game. It started off with a linear path and as the player progressed, the world gradually opened up.

Will this affect the game’s amount of content? Not necessarily. During E3, Tabata also divulged the same number of hours. He estimated that players may clock in a total of 200 hours if they complete side missions and other activities, but it will take players only around 40 hours to finish just the main quest.

The direction coincides with one of Tabata’s goal for the game. Back in E3, he emphasized that the game aims to introduce the Final Fantasy series to the new generation of gamers while satisfying its loyal fans.

Of course, the success of introducing newer features and tweaks still remains to be seen. The game’s release has been delayed for almost two months. Instead of September 30, Final Fantasy XV will be released for Playstation 4 and Xbox One on November 29.  

Hopefully for fans, the wait will finally end. – Rappler.com