If you pre-ordered Final Fantasy Type-0, you’ll likely be one of the first to cruise Final Fantasy XV‘s demo, but don’t hold your breath on experiencing the game’s bromance road-trip to behind the wheel – at least, not yet.
Speaking with Polygon in a translated interview, game director Hajime Tabata claimed that he didn’t want players to feel like the series had suddenly become a driving simulator.
“Originally we were planning on making the car be available to drive throughout the world and throughout the demo,” Tabata said. “But we didn’t want people to mistake it and think ‘When did Final Fantasy become a driving game?'”
Instead, Tabata and his team decided that exploring the game’s seamless world and the characters in them will be taking center stage as the focus of the demo, also known as Episode Duscae.
“You’ll be able to experience the starting point of what an open-world Final Fantasy would potentially feel like,” Tabata continued. “You’ll really be able to experience that seamless Final Fantasy world within the demo itself, but then if you play it, you’ll still really get a sense that it’s a Final Fantasy game. You’ll get that balance within the demo.”
In addition, Tabata said that he hopes that Final Fantasy XV will show the “extreme improvement and evolvement” the series is known for. As such, Square Enix intends the demo to be as “playable and accessible to people who know the franchise” and not thrust such big changes onto gamers too fast.
The demo for Final Fantasy XV will be available to those who own Final Fantasy Type-0‘s HD on “day one.” Type-0 is set for launch Mar. 17th.
Via Polygon