Top 10 Features We Want to See in Final Fantasy 15

Let’s be honest: Tetsuya Nomura, director of Final Fantasy XV (formerly Final Fantasy Versus XIII) probably knows what we want before even we do. This is a guy that managed to take a concept like “Final Fantasy meets Disney” and infuse it with enough action, drama and dream team combinations than we ever could of hoped for with Kingdom Hearts 2. Then he breathed fresh life into the Final Fantasy VII universe with Crisis Core, arguably one of the best games in the series. So it’s a given that’s a smart guy who can deliver some great experiences.

Nonetheless, we have our needs and desires. And with all the time it’s taken to develop Final Fantasy XV, it would be great if at least a few of the following actually made it into the game. Here’s our top 10 most wanted features for Final Fantasy XV.

10. 1080p, 60 Frames Per Second

We’ve seen the game and it runs at what appears to be 30 frames per second. Would it be too much to ask for 60 frames per second at this stage? Most likely, but anything less than 1080p just feels wrong. This is a game that skipped the PlayStation 3 generation and went straight to the PS4 and Xbox One. With all the detail and amazing effects on display, it would be wonderful to have both 1080p resolution and a 60 FPS frame rate. But we’re willing to settle for just the former.

9. Mechs

Of all the things we’ve seen in Final Fantasy with giant floating cities, motorcycles, Sister Rays, W.E.A.P.O.N.s, airships and whatnot, well, why not? Even a mix of monster and technology would be cool, but give us something to pilot and punch friggin’ Leviathan in the face with. Again, it seems like more of a wish than expectation but it’s high time.

8. Co-op play

This is a toss-up. On one hand, we’re not sure how well it would work to take control of one of Noctis’s allies during the main game. On the other hand, we’re not sure Square Enix would invest the resources into creating a completely separate co-op campaign. File this under “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” rather than an actual expectation, but there’s still plenty of time to surprise us, Square.

7. A Release

We’ve been burned before, not including the time that gameplay footage leaked. All those rumours of cancellation and revamping only made us more skeptical that we’d ever see the game again. Now that more information is coming out, hopefully a solid release date (or year) will materialize as well.

6. Open World Gameplay (Sort of)

Give us towns to shop in, dungeons to explore, tombs to find secrets in or bases to defend with Horde Mode-like objectives. We don’t need to go everywhere – we just want places to explore when we’re not trying to save the world. Tie them in to the aspect of multiple endings and you’re on to something. With the number of different elements in the Final Fantasy universe such as Summons, magic and perhaps even vehicles this time around, this is a no-brainer.

5. Multiple Endings

We get it, we get it: We’re fighting to save the world. That’s the case in every Final Fantasy. Oddly enough, that’s not the case here…or not exactly. It will probably feature objectives such as rescuing Noctis’s father or even Stella, but we need a bit more traction than that.

4. Branching paths

Don’t just give us multiple directions to take the story in. Is all that chaotic fighting just for show or can you actually take different paths to your objective? We’re not asking for open world gameplay (yet), but levels that allow us multiple avenues to reach our objective. Kingdom Hearts 2 only slightly had that – and since this is a far more mature title with less confined environments to work in, then why not?

3. Summons

No, we don’t want two aqua-like beings that can change into different vehicles for the characters to ride (we’re looking at you, Final Fantasy XIII). Fighting summons in order to earn their trust? We can get behind that. A simplified Junction system for increasing your attributes with the more Summons you accrue? As long as it’s not as confusing as Final Fantasy VIII, then sure. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the Summon as a party member that takes the place of your other allies and which you have limited control over a la Final Fantasy XII either.

2. Limit Breaks/Drive Gauge Attacks

In Kingdom Hearts, you can team up with party members to outright batter groups of enemies with attacks. Final Fantasy’s Limit Breaks are different, but follow the same philosophy of striking with an overwhelming blow in an instant. Noctis’s warping and multi-weapon attacks may already come across as overblown, and we see team members help in a support role of sorts. But something to rely on in the heat of combat would be nice.

1. Materia combination

Similar to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for the PSP – which Nomura also worked on – it would be interesting if Materia and the combination thereof made a return. At least something that would allow us to harness dark energies and then combine them together into unexpected, highly rare results. While it’s more likely we’ll see something akin to the Job system, or at least the ability to change classes in between combat like Kingdom Hearts, one hopes for a combination system of some sort.