Final Fantasy 15 director Hajime Tabata discusses just how long fans can expect the game's main narrative to take during Square Enix's E3 live stream yesterday.
For a game that's been a constant presence in gaming news headlines for the better part of an entire year, Final Fantasy 15 had a relatively quiet E3 2016. That shouldn't deter fans, however, as Square Enix has shown its willingness to go all-in on the title whether it be elaborate press conference events like Final Fantasy Uncovered or the production of a Final Fantasy 15 companion anime to serve as a prologue for the game.
Even if E3 2016 has largely been a showcase of other titles, though, the Square Enix E3 live stream was definitely centered around the company's prized IP. Final Fantasy 15 director Hajime Tabata was featured in a segment where the man behind the hopeful revitalization of the franchise answered some of the questions most commonly asked by fans on Twitter and other social media outlets. One of the most popular questions has been in regard to game length, and Tabata had this to say:
"In terms of clearing the main story, we're anticipating about 40-50 hours of gameplay...at the very least, there will be 40 hours of content to enjoy."
For gamers who have enjoyed the recent releases of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the massive Fallout 4, 40-50 hours of gameplay might seem like a smaller total than it actually is. For context, the main story of Final Fantasy 7 averages roughly the same, if not a slightly shorter, completion time length. Tabata was also quick to point out that the duration he quoted was only in the barest sense of completing Final Fantasy 15, and that there was a lot more on offer:
"There are a lot of side quests and extra things. With just the extra stuff alone, we're looking at maybe 100 hours of gameplay. So if you count all of that, maybe we're looking at around 200 hours of gameplay."
While 100 plus 40 definitely does not equal 200, Tabata's point remains the same - there will be a lot of Final Fantasy 15 content to keep fans of the series occupied well beyond the first couple days of the game's launch. That's a good thing, because Final Fantasy 15's E3 2016 gameplay demo, featuring Noctis and crew attempting to take down a massive Titan, looked like an inspired combat system that will hopefully have a number of chances to shine over the course of the game.
Ultimately, Tabata concluded his discussion on game length with his philosophy behind including so much extra content - that "a lot of fans have been waiting quite a while for this game", and that Tabata wanted to make sure there was enough stuff to do in Final Fantasy 15 to make up for the wait. It's no secret that fans expected a lot from Final Fantasy 15, one of the most anticipated games of E3 2016, but in a scaled-back way, Square still managed to deliver. Now all that's left is the short wait before gamers can finally explore Final Fantasy 15's main story themselves.
What do you think about Final Fantasy 15's main story length? Is 40-50 hours enough for a modern RPG, or do you expect a longer experience like The Witcher 3? Let us know in the comments below.
Final Fantasy 15 will release for PS4 and Xbox One on September 30, 2016.