If there is one thing that Final Fantasy games have been known for a very long time, it has been for pushing the standards of technology. Even the much maligned Final Fantasy 13 was a stunning game, as accomplished in its graphical design as it was lacking in just about everything else. So it should not come as a surprise to anybody that the upcoming Final Fantasy 15 looks stunning, too- after all, that is a part of the series’ DNA.
Square Enix, for their part, are very confident in just how good the game will look. So confident, that game director Hajime Tabata believes that Final Fantasy 15 will legitimately be the best looking open world game on the market.
“Especially when it comes to Final Fantasy, a lot of times our consumers are expecting exceptional graphics,” Tabata said to Game Informer. “In comparison to other titles, open worlds – when you look at the screenshots – their graphical quality won’t be on par. We set out to overcome that barrier, to ensure that we are using the technology that will enable us to overcome that stigma.”
“It’s hard to define what ‘cutting edge’ is when it comes to games,” Tabata continued. “Right now, we say FF15 is developed with the latest cutting-edge technology. But if we move a little forward in time, the latest technology differs. So, from a developer’s standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to define what is the ‘latest.’ The way I approached it was asking what would be important to make consumers feel like this is a modern RPG built with high-end technology, and what needs to be done to make them feel that way?”
So far, everything we have seen of Final Fantasy 15 definitely seems to back up Tabata’s confidence (though the game could stand with being optimized for better performance and framerates). In a world where The Witcher 3 exists, Final Fantasy 15 being the best looking open world game is definitely a stunning achievement.