[HTML1]

Square Enix's Final Fantasy-themed 'Jump Festa' event is in full swing, and as part of the celebration the Tokyo-based game developer showed off a brand new (and long-awaited) trailer for Final Fantasy XV. This isn't the first time gamers have seen Final Fantasy XV in action, of course. The game started development in 2006 as a Final Fantasy XIII spin-off called Final Fantasy Versus XIII; aside from a combat-heavy trailer that surfaced in 2011, the game spent most of its development out of the public eye, and many assumed it had been cancelled.

But in 2013, Square Enix announced the title had been renamed and moved to the (then) next generation of consoles. Earlier this year, Square Enix released both a trailer spotlighting FFXV's main characters, as well as a video showcasing the game's combat. Despite all that, this new trailer is the first real look that gamers have gotten at Final Fantasy XV's story. Rest assured, Final Fantasy XV's adventure looks just as epic as the ones in the series' previous entries.

The footage begins with the invasion of a city called 'Insomnia', and quickly moves through footage of a malevolent army taking control of the the city, its king, and its people. From there, the trailer focuses on the game's hero, Noctis, and three of his friends, who travel the world in a convertible while trying save the kingdom. From this brief look, the story's got everything players expect from a Final Fantasy title: large-scale battles, evil empires, powerful crystals, and a healthy dose of teenage angst.

Final Fantasy 15 Trailer

The gameplay footage is equally as impressive. The Kingdom Hearts-inspired combat gets a lot of attention, as do the game's sprawling, modern-looking towns. According to a Q&A session with director Hajime Tabata (translated at Kotaku), the development team is trying to make the entire world feel like one open, seamless experience - although that might change by the time the game comes out. The trailer also depicts a fight against "Titan," one of Final Fantasy's classic monsters, and emphasizes the creature's gargantuan size. If that sense of scale carries through to the final product, players are in for a game that's big in every sense of the word.

When the first Final Fantasy XV trailer came out, many players complained that the cast was all male. The new footage doesn't allay those concerns, but does reveal that, for the first time, the series' recurring "Cid" character is a woman. That's not a solution, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

[HTML2]

In addition to the new video, Square Enix has also updated Final Fantasy XV's TGS trailer to include the main characters' English voice actors. The performances are, in short, hilarious, particularly one of the characters' affected and oh-so-British dialogue. The over-the-top growls and screams will probably wear thin over a 60+ hour game, but in this short video they convey the same campy charm that's become one of Final Fantasy's trademarks.

Despite all of this new footage, there's still one big question surrounding Final Fantasy XV: when will it actually release? In the Q&A, Tabata makes it sound like there's a lot of work still to be done, particularly with regards to the game's magic system, which is still so unpolished that the development team doesn't feel comfortable showing it. While it's nice to get these peeks at the game, they come at a cost: now, the wait's just going to be that much harder.

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

Source: Kotaku