Nomura: More female Final Fantasy XV characters to be revealed in the future

By Erren Van Duine on June 26, 2013 at 10:23 AM

Final Fantasy XV is a massive game – so much so that according to Tetsuya Nomura, it will be hard to wrap up the story with the timeframe they’re considering for its release.

That isn’t to say the game’s original vision has been altered; no, it remains the same as it was originally conceived seven years ago. The idea of an “epic” just means that Nomura is already considering ways to expand the narrative.

At the start of Final Fantasy XV, Noctis and his entourage of Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus will be controllable by the player. It is only later on that the katana wielding Cor Leonis will join in. The 42 year old Lord Commander is voiced by Hiroki Touchi in the Japanese version – the same VA who originally voiced Noctis’s chauffeur in the 2011 trailer. Now though, he’s played by someone and and his along with Stella’s voice actor will be revealed in due time.

The main villains of the story hail from the country of Nifleheim, and were designed with an asymmetric aesthetic. Their clothes, while mostly white, are different on each side.. Under the disguise of peace, they infiltrate Lucis in order to steal the last crystal from the world. The unnamed red-headed male is an enemy of Noctis. His hair is red because he’ll be voiced by Keiji Fujiwara in the Japanese version – known more famously for his roles as Reno (FFVII) and Axel (KH), both of which have red hair. The older man with the sharp glare facing off with King Regis – Idola Eldercapt – is also amongst the many antagonists who have yet to be revealed.

While Nomura admits the E3 trailer was “full of male” characters, he asks fans to rest easy knowing that he did in fact reveal one new female character toward the end of that video. Females such as Stella Nox Fleuret and the mysterious dragoon remain in the game and will be detailed at some point in the future. Expect even more characters – including females – than what was shown in the latest trailer.

The decision to shift the game to the next generation means less compromises. The scale of the game is said to be massive and part of the reason it’s taken so long to develop. Nomura admits the team considered reducing the size of it all but in the end they decided to keep everything as intended.

Not only scale, but the graphics continue to be improved as well. Nomura says the staff is working hard to lessen the gap between real time and pre-rendered scenes, with the final product looking better than what we’re seeing now. As expected, Japanese clothing designer Roen is still at the helm with ever so slightly updated main character designs.

In terms of the overall gameplay of FFXV, Nomura is focusing on the element of speed. The camera in the current version of the game is flawed and he aims to create a more realistic feel similar to that of watching events play out in real life. Nomura wants to create a camera that not only follows the character, but gives the impression of one recording the “life events” of the game.

Noctis himself can perform a variety of moves based on this concept of “speed.” The Warp command is exclusive to him and we’ve seen the “short” version of it in the latest trailer. Nomura says that there will eventually be a visual example of Noctis’s “long warp” ability. Warping is limited – most likely tied to a gauge under Noctis’s name in the main HUD. Additionally, Noctis will be able to ride on top of and free run on monsters in order to aim for the weak points of even larger enemies.

The team is also researching ways to implement console-specific features such as the PS4’s share button, although nothing has been finalized.

But when can we see FFXV again? The next big update should come around Tokyo Game Show with smaller updates sprinkled about Famitsu during the summer.

Via: [email protected].