Final Fantasy XV Director Shares The Latest On The Episode Duscae Demo

Square Enix have shared the latest information on the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo that will be bundled with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, which releases next month. Here are some highlights of what director Hajime Tabata shared in his latest Active Time Report livestream.

• The top image shows a look at the demo’s main menu, but the “Debug Menu” option won’t be there when it releases.

• In the demo, you’ll get to go in the water, but the water will only reach up to Noctis’ knees. The release version will have water go up to his chest, and Square are still thinking about adding a swimming feature.

• Pressing down the directional stick will make Noctis run, but he won’t be able to run forever. While running, his party members will also keep up with his pace.

• Getting closer to enemies while walking around will make an ominous tune of music play, and the battle theme once the encounter begins.

• The camera will adjust during combat so you’ll face enemies, but you can also lock-on to certain targets with the R1 button.

• The Garula monsters you find in the field will be powerful, but defeating them will result in high amounts of experience points, and they can also drop meat that you can cook at camp.

• The above is a look at a beef stew cooked up by Ignis. Tabata jokingly said: “How’s that for the new generation of graphics!”

• When enemies shine, that means they’re about to perform a powerful attack. However, it’s also a good indicator to know when you should use a parry maneuver.

• Goblins show up at night, and are also found in caves, as they refrain from being around the light.

• In the full version, cooperative moves are things that you’ll acquire over time, as the characters bond.

• Defeating too many monsters in the same area will result in them not spawning for a while. They’ll begin to spawn again after waiting a certain amount of time.

• The Royal Car that Noctis and friends use to travel will break down at a certain point, and the party will need to make money to have it repaired. You can do this bits at a time by selling items, or almost all at once by defeating a Behemoth called Smoke Eye. This monster can’t see in one eye, so you’ll have to use this to your advantage.

• Party members will give you new hints and suggestions as you explore new areas on the map or after getting more objectives.

• Depending on where the camp is, there might be some that will give you bonus experience points.

• The demo won’t be 1080p/30fps, but Square Enix aim to have the game running at full HD in the full version.

• The weapons used to fight and used as part of the Phantom Sword will be different in the demo. In the full version, you’ll get to go around collecting Phantom Swords throughout the map.

• There’s an ending to the demo, and there will be a little something to unlock after seeing it. The ending will be related to the story of the main game.

• There won’t be any data transfers to the main title, but Square say they might add a little bonus for players with save data from the Episode Duscae demo.

• The demo won’t feature the fight against the giant Adamantaimai. Square Enix are saving that for the full version.

• Development is at around 60%, according to Tabata. They previously said that it was at 55% during Tokyo Game Show, and it might sound like the development has advanced much, but they say that it’s a lot more than it seems. Again, it’s hard to gauge based on percentage, as development progress isn’t always the same across all games.

Final Fantasy XV is in development for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.